Profiles

Plastic Member Profile: Martina Scarpelli

Martina Scarpelli, resident/vice chairperson at Plastic, director, animator, producer, artist

Martina Scarpelli graduated with a degree in animation from the Academy of Brera in Milan before getting her BFA at the Experimental Cinematography Center. She participated in ANIDOX and the Open Workshop at The Animation Workshop, where she connected with other founding members of the Plastic Collective. Her short film Egg was awarded Best First Film at Annecy, among other awards. She has recently become involved in producing, and produced Pernille Kjaer’s Spring.

Martina is currently involved in a range of projects, including feature length animated opera and a short VR opera (co-written with Plastic member Amalie Olesen), an animated documentary feature, and helping with Plastic administration and initiatives. She says:

One of the benefits of the collective is that I can see people around me doing all these different projects using different processes and technologies. I can learn a little more about those types of projects and processes just by being around them; things become a bit easier and more accessible because I am constantly exposed to different skillsets. I am learning more about games and interactive work, and it was easier for me to imagine being a producer because of this exposure.

Scarpelli is also working as a creative director with fellow Plastic board member Lars Hemmingsen as technical director and producer Sia Søndergaard on a massive project for the Viborg Museum. When asked what is so special about Viborg, she says:

Although Viborg is a small town, there are so many opportunities here. There is a constant flow of interesting international people, the city is investing in culture and wants to create opportunities, there is a museum that wants to use animation… We want a thriving digital art community, and we want Animation Workshop graduates and community members to stay in Viborg, and Plastic should be a reason to stay. I want to see more digital art for adults, and by living here and working with Plastic, I feel like I can help make the art I want to see. I feel like I am part of the cultural forefront, part of creating the new material that I want to experience in the world. I really feel like I am at the center of what’s happening.

Look for Martina on large and small screens near you, at the 2025 opening of the Viborg Museum, or at the next Plastic Collective event, where her passion and enthusiasm are contagious.