34 | SEPTEMBER 12 • 2024

A

Jewish-owned and Detroit-
based creative studio
offers creative storytelling
platforms for people of all ages and

abilities.
Tink Tank Animate, an autism
center located on Livernois, helps
artists from beginners to advanced
exercise and develop their cognitive
skills through animation, story
creation, and a guided approach
through the overall creative and
production process.
Through both in-person and
virtual services, Tink Tank Animate
currently serves individuals as
young as age 8 through senior
citizen age. In total, 40 families
nationwide use the center’s services,
with eight of the families located in
Michigan.

NO-BARRIERS CREATIVITY
As the brainchild of Jewish

filmmaker Tawd Dorenfeld, 50,
who opened Tink Tank Animate in
2018 after moving from California
to Detroit, the center operates as
one of just a few of its kind in the
country.
“I was teaching at a school for
autism and animation in Los
Angeles,” Dorenfeld recalls, “and
I found that the students I was
working with were truly excelling at
storytelling.”
While the Los Angeles school,
Exceptional Minds, only taught
basic animation skills, Dorenfeld
imagined something much grander
where artists with autism of all
skill levels could develop creative
projects in not only animation, but
virtually any creative platform.

With the blessing of Exceptional
Minds, he launched the full-service
content creation studio Tink
Tank Animate to focus directly
on storytelling through diverse
mediums.
Now, the center allows students
to execute just about any creative
project, from books and movies, to
musicals and podcasts, all with the
help of professional mentors (there
are currently six to seven on staff,
with four in Detroit and the rest
working remotely).
Most programs run as one-on-one
individual sessions, though group
workshops are also offered for those
who want to work collaboratively on
a creative project. Private sessions
cost $100 per session, while group
sessions cost $50 per session.
Interested students have a
consultation with Dorenfeld and
staff to discuss their creative goals,
while others come in with an
open mind to work on just about
anything.
“We’ll look at your strengths at
that very time and moment and,
from those strengths, we’ll show you
what skills you can use to execute
your project,” Dorenfeld says.

Write, Create, Share:
Neurodiverse Storytelling
for All

OUR COMMUNITY

Tink Tank Animate autism center
fosters creativity and connection.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Tawd Dorenfeld

ERIC SCHWARTZ

Tink Tank Animate is full of high-
end production gear and equipment,
including a stop-motion studio.