Animation Y’all Expo returns to Lipscomb for second year helping grow Tennessee’s animation community, access for students

Founded by Lipscomb faculty and former Disney animators Tom and Tony Bancroft, the three-day event gives students direct access to top studios, artists and career opportunities.

Kim Chaudoin  |  03/19/2026

Animation runs deep in the blood of brothers Tom and Tony Bancroft.

For the former Disney animators, whose credits include iconic films such as The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and Mulan, animation is more than a career. It is a calling that has shaped their lives and now fuels their passion for investing in the next generation of artists while helping build a thriving animation community in Nashville.

As faculty members in Lipscomb University’s nationally acclaimed animation program, the Bancroft brothers are committed not only to training future animators, but also to creating meaningful connections between students and the industry. That vision led to the creation of the Animation Y’all Expo, which the brothers founded and brought to Lipscomb last year, marking the first professional-level animation event of its kind in the South.

The Animation Y’all Expo returns to Lipscomb April 10-12 and will bring with it some of animation’s biggest names. For Lipscomb students, the expo provides a unique opportunity to learn from industry experts and guest artists, receive portfolio feedback, and make connections that can lead to internships and future jobs.

The Bancrofts created Animation Y’all to fill a gap in the industry. While fan conventions and anime festivals have long had a place in the region, the brothers envisioned something different when they launched the expo.

“We wanted to create a professional-level expo that would connect students, artists, studios and educators in a meaningful way while also helping raise awareness of the animation industry in this area,” explained Tony Bancroft, director of Imagine House Animation at Lipscomb, housed in the George Shinn College of Entertainment & the Arts. 

The inaugural event sold out in 2025 with more than 500 attendees, signaling strong demand for an industry-focused gathering in the South as Nashville continues to grow as an emerging hub for animation and digital media.

“A very important aspect of the expo is the opportunity that it provides students,” he said. “Even in the first year, we started seeing that happen. With the growth of this event and what it means to have it on Lipscomb’s campus and here in Nashville, it’s going to have an impact in a big way in the lives of our students.”

That student-centered vision is one reason Bancroft said this year’s expo is expanding in both size and scope. Animation Y’all will feature more than 80 exhibitors, including major names such as Disney Animation, DreamWorks Animation and Bento Box Atlanta, along with local and regional studios. Special guests and presenters will include some of the most respected artists in the field, among them are Aaron Blaise, Andreas Deja, Mel Milton, John Pomeroy, Nathan Engelhardt, Scott Christian Sava and Stephen Silver. The event will also include industry panels, artist demonstrations, vendor booths and a new series of masterclass sessions led by top industry experts.

The expo also provides students unique access to industry leaders. Animation student Maxwell Taylor knows first-hand the expo’s value.

“Tony Bancroft is the primary person I have to thank for my job,” said Taylor, who lives in Atlanta is working on completing his Lipscomb degree online. “One day we were talking and catching up when I mentioned I live in Atlanta. He said he knew a guy who works in Atlanta and would be visiting for Animation Y’all last year, and he gave me his email address.”

That “guy” was Craig Hartin, president of Bento Box Atlanta, a division of Bento Box Entertainment, a multiple Emmy® Award-winning entertainment content and technology company. During last year’s Animation Y’all, they met in person. Taylor stayed in contact with him in the weeks following the expo and visited the studio later that spring. 

“Then, this past fall, I got an email from Craig saying he was looking for an assistant,” recalled Taylor. “Tony gave me a great opportunity with this connection, and I knew I needed to take the extra steps to make something great come out of it.”

Taylor is returning to Animation Y’all this year from the other side of the table, representing Bento Box in a full-circle moment.

“That’s just one of many connections our students are making in the animation community because of the expo,” Bancroft said.

This year, Lipscomb animation students will have even more opportunities to benefit. The program’s annual senior portfolio day is being folded into the first day of Animation Y’all, allowing students to have their work reviewed by far more studios and professionals than in a typical year.

“Our students are going to have probably 15 studios looking at their work in a three-hour period,” Bancroft said. “The studios are coming to them — in Nashville and on the Lipscomb campus. That’s unheard of. Typically, students have to invest weeks and months trying to connect with studios.”

Students will again have volunteer opportunities as “in-betweeners,” a nod to a classic animation term for artists who draw the intermediate frames between key poses. These volunteers will help run the event, assist exhibitors and guide attendees. Bancroft said the role gives students a natural way to meet professionals, build confidence and form relationships in an industry where networking is essential.

The expo’s influence is also extending beyond a single weekend. Out of last year’s inaugural gathering came the formation of the Tennessee Animation Association, a new organization bringing together faculty, studio leaders and animation professionals from across the state to strengthen Tennessee’s animation ecosystem.

Bancroft said the organization was created with two goals: to connect the state’s animation community and to advocate for the industry’s continued growth. That includes helping state leaders better understand animation’s economic potential in Tennessee and encouraging support, such as tax incentives, that can attract productions and jobs to the state.

For Lipscomb, the expo reflects the growth of a program Tom Bancroft launched in 2015. In the years since, Lipscomb’s animation program has become one of the university’s fastest-growing academic offerings and has earned national recognition, including a No. 13 ranking for its Bachelor of Arts in Animation program and distinction as the top private animation program in Tennessee.

“Animation Y’all reflects what makes Lipscomb’s program so distinctive,” said Mike Fernandez, dean of the George Shinn College of Entertainment & the Arts. “Our students are learning from world-class faculty and engaging directly with leaders in the industry in ways that prepare them for meaningful careers. Bringing an event of this caliber to campus is both an extraordinary opportunity for our students and another sign of Lipscomb’s growing influence in animation.”

One of the program’s distinctives is its roster of industry veterans who are on faculty, such as Mike Nawrocki, co-creator of VeggieTales and The Dead Sea Squirrels; Victoria Thornberry, who has worked at studios such as Nickelodeon, DreamWorks and Warner Brothers; Carson Montgomery, who began his career with Nickelodeon and has been a writer for the Disney hit series Big City Greens since its beginning eight years ago; Tim Allen, background/layout designer at Nickelodeon Animation; and Jeremiah Alcorn, character designer from Disney Television Animation along with a broad bench of working artists and educators across 2D, 3D and interactive media.

“We wanted to invest more in the animation industry here in Tennessee,” said Bancroft. “While it is important to have a strong school, teach great art and employable skills, if there aren’t jobs here, then what use is it? We want to see this industry grow so students who love Tennessee and love Nashville can build their careers here.”

That effort is already producing results. Bancroft said one recent animation graduate recently moved from an internship into a job with Disney Imagineering, while another Lipscomb student landed a Pixar internship. Those successes, he said, are just two examples that reflect both the quality of the program and the growing recognition of Lipscomb among industry professionals.

“We’re starting to see students not only get local industry jobs, which we love, but also go into some of the biggest studios around,” he said. “Our program has been a catalyst. It’s been around long enough now that it’s becoming known and respected by professionals in the industry.”

Full information, tickets and registration for Animation Y’all Expo and its masterclass sessions are available at www.animationyall.com.

Learn more about Lipscomb University's animation program. 

— Photos courtesy Tony Bancroft