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.