Open Studios

Open Studios convos are about making meaningful stuff in a complicated world, my guest Noran Fikri Alezabi along with her fellow co-directors have done just that with their short film 'Gauze' winner of both a Student Academy Award and Student BAFTA (the British Academy of Film and Television Arts) this year. Set in Gaza, animated, and based on real events, 'Gauze' does what only art can do - asks...

Claire Stapleton is the author of Don't Be Evil, Bad Bosses, Fake Promises, and My Escape from Big Tech. Claire joins Karen to discuss her book and her journey from earnest college grad to seasoned, disillusioned Google insider. It’s a ballsy, up-close account of Big Tech during a major cultural pivot, a reckoning with the stories we accept and the ones we tell ourselves. Open Studios on Instagram...

Last year, the world - and your Tiktok FYP - met Le Poisson Steve, an orange fish with a brainwormy song, created with love by Parisian artists and streamers Vigz & Tomo (Victoria Rona and Thomas Ename). On its debut, Steve immediately snatched a gazillion views across all platforms, sparked a global fan art response, was dubbed the French anthem, and is still stuck in our heads…Il est orange,...

Frank Abney is an American filmmaker, NAACP Image Award-winning artist, writer, director, animator, and (apparently) a former BMX daredevil. After working on some of the biggest animated blockbusters of our time, Frank Executive Produced the Academy Award-winning short film Hair Love , created and directed Netflix’s NAACP’s Image Award-winning Canvas , and wrote and directed Black Man, Black Man b...

On December 5, 2025 Bay Area artist Vincent Serritella's life changed forever with the diagnosis of a glioblastoma, a rare and random brain tumor.  As a response, he turned to his art and began painting The Human Infrastructure (Those Who Carried Me), a collection of portraits of the people who supported his recovery - or as Vincent describes them “a living system of care without which recovery wo...

Laia Casanovas is the Oscar-nominated Supervising Sound Designer and Editor behind SIRĀT, the daring film from director Oliver Laxe.  Together with Yasmina Praderas and Amanda Villavieja, Laia and her team made history this year as the first-ever all-female sound crew to snag an Oscar nod. Fresh off an incredible season, Laia joins me to talk about the art of creating sound for a living—and how sh...

Tomm Moore is a guardian and caretaker of stories and traditions. Together with Nora Twomey and Paul Young, Tomm co-founded the five-time Oscar nominated, Golden Globe nominated, and BAFTA winning studio Cartoon Saloon, headquartered in Kilkenny, Ireland.  Tomm directed three of those Oscar nominated films THE SECRET OF KELLS, SONG OF THE SEA, and WOLFWALKERS all instantly recognizable and deeply...

Claire Keane is an acclaimed author, illustrator, and Emmy award-winning visual development artist known for her work on Disney’s Tangled and Frozen. Daughter of the legendary animator Glen Keane, Claire and I talk legacy, creative conviction and turning up the volume when the universe speaks. Claire’s latest book WHO ARE YOU? is out now. It’s beautiful and graceful and a bit wild…just like Claire...

THE ULTIMATE AUTEUR Director and Artist Michaël Dudok de Wit | This is a dreamy chat with the renowned director of Oscar winning short film Father and Daughter and Oscar nom’d The Red Turtle, a collaboration with Studio Ghibli. Michaël creates visual capsules of awe and pathos and wonder, all with (mostly) ink and paper.  A legend. We talk about his decades of work, gratitude, phenomenon, nature,...

Creator and Director of the Academy Award nominated film “Retirement Plan” John Kelly and Writer Tara Lawall discuss their work and collaboration, making lists, and sneaky simpleness.  Follow Open Studios here Watch Retirement Plan here Learn more about the film here Instagram Open Studios Retirement Plan Johnny Kelly Tara Lawall Follow Open Studios on Substack @houseofk

Hi universe, and welcome to Open Studios, conversations with some of the world's most dynamic artists and innovators working in animation, film, illustration, and more. We talk craft and process, curation and collaboration, all driven by the human need to connect and create. Glad you’re here! Follow on Instagram and Substack