Draft:Ali Ekeroma Cowley

Ali Ekeroma Cowley is a creative director, animator, illustrator, artist and teacher of Samoan descent from the villages of Vaimoso and Vaigaga based in South Auckland, New Zealand. He has 28+ years of experience within the animation industry. Cowley is most known for his work on the award-winning New Zealand animated show Bro'Town. Within animation Cowley has provided work for both international and local production companies. He has worked with Warner Bros. and Disney Television Animation as well as Firehorse Films Ltd and Tairawhiti Productions House.

In 2019 Cowley directed, wrote and animated in his short documentary Meet Munch Jr for Loading Docs. 2019 "Power Collection." The film speaks to Cowley's unconditional love for his first-born son who is an aspiring puppeteer and neurodivergent on the autism spectrum. Cowley and his family have been active members of the Pasifika Autism Support Group since 2009.

The film won Best Short Documentary at the Top Shorts Film Festival 2019 and was selected for the Entr'2 Marches International Film Festival in Cannes, France in 2020.

Early Life
Cowley was born in Auckland, New Zealand. Both of his parents are Samoan, from the villages of Vaimoso and Vaigaga on the island of Upolu, Samoa. His parents migrated individually to Auckland, New Zealand in the early 1960s. His mother worked as a maternity nurse at Middlemore Hospital and his father worked in construction. They had met, married and had started a family by the late 1960s.

The family lived in Mangere, South Auckland where he grew up with his siblings. His parents were supportive of Cowley's artistic expression as a child. His interest in drawing began in when he was 5 years old his father showed him how to draw a cowboy with pen and paper. His keen interest in drawing developed into a talent for illustration.

Biography
After graduating from Mangere College, Cowley went to Auckland Technical Institute to do a Foundation Studies in Art and Design Certificate. After gaining his Art and Design Certificate Cowley did a year of O.E (Overseas Education) in Melbourne, Australia. He spent a year moonlighting as a podium hip hop dancer with his close friends at various Melbourne night clubs before his grooup of friends formed "You got it" an R&B dance review group as well as working on a chicken farm. Cowley returned to New Zealand and went on the benefit seeking art jobs.

In 1992 Cowley was a Body Double for Jimmy Smits on the television adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Tommyknockers. Cowley also worked as an extra on various projects as well as having small acting parts in between his art contracts. He also trained under Dayna Grant of New Zealand Stunt School. Cowley has also offered his stunt skills to a short film as well as a Netflix series.

He would eventually sign up for the Taskforce Green initiative WINZ ran in the 1990s Through this initiative Cowley painted murals for the Robertson Road beautification project. While painting a mural, a fellow artist noticed his natural talent for cartoon character design and illustration, he suggested he apply for an animation course. Inspired by this, Cowley attended the Freelance Animation School Ltd (1994–1996) in Auckland, New Zealand. Graduating with a Diploma in 2D character animation & classical 2D animation. During this time Cowley also teamed up with Johnny Sagala and joined his brother Dei Hamo's group named the Pacifikan Descendants (1993) Their group consisting of three MC's, one DJ, two keyboard players and four dancers were an integral part of the 90s New Zealand Underground Hip Hop scene. The group was involved with Voodoo Rhyme Syndicate and Urban Pasifika Music at the time.

As a freelance animator Cowley got his first animation jobs in his first year out of Freelance Animation School Ltd with Flux Animation as an Animator/Animation Assistant (1997). His work included animation, layout and clean up. That same year Cowley was hired by Slightly Off-Beat Productions where he worked first as a storyboard revisionist on the DIC Entertainment Show, Madeline (1997), from there he became a 2D animator on the Warner Bros. show Static Shock as well as Bounty Hamster for Silver Fox Studios (1997 – 1998). Cowley also worked as a freelance animator with Anim8 (1998 – 2004). During his time there he worked on Nelvana's, The Manly Bee and Disney Television's, Dave the Barbarian.

In 2004 Cowley began his work with the critically acclaimed and award-winning New Zealand animated TV show Bro'Town created by the Naked Samoans and produced by Firehorse Films Ltd. Bro'Town was a landmark moment for Samoan and Pasifika representation as well as visibility within New Zealand's mainstream media. His journey started as an assistant animator (2004) under established Niuean animator Maka Makatoa. As Assistant Animator his jobs included 2D character animation, storyboarding, layout and key clean-up. Cowley became Assistant Animation Director on the show in 2005. From 2006 – 2008 Cowley became Animator Director, directing 6 episodes. The episodes include: "Touched by a Teacher" (2006) which won a New Zealand Screen Award, "A Chicken Roll at my Table" (2006), "Zeelander" (2006).

In 2007 Cowley established Ali Ekeroma Cowley Illustration / Pop Islander Culture (2007 – Present) for his growing catalog of work as an artist and creative director.

In 2008 Cowley, alongside several other animators, participated in a NZTE mentorship program facilitated by Radar Cartoons Ltd. Radar Cartoons Ltd is a consulting agency to US production companies wanting to buy original independent projects for animated television shows. Cowley was able to share his ideas for television with Disney Television Animation, Porchlight Entertainment, Frederator and The Jim Henson Company.

Cowley was creative director on the Play Kindly App (2018–2020), an app based on the PhD thesis of Samoan educator and academic Tafa Esther Cowley-Malcolm. Cowley lent his creative direction to the project working in collaboration with Tafa Esther Cowley-Malcolm and Oscar Kightley to create an educational tool for their community.

Cowley has supported many community projects over the years with his skill and experience. Lending his expertise to local community projects and national productions houses such as: Panuku Development (2016), Dayna Stunts (2018), Kingston productions (2020), The Rebel Collective (2020), Tusitala Media Ltd (2021) and Tairawhiti Production House Ltd (2021.) Cowley has had diverse roles within these projects from a freelancer animator to concept and storyboard artist to VFX animator to animation specialist.

Cowley's teaching journey parallels his animation journey in that he has worked with both international and local institutions to teach the art of animation, concept art and traditional illustration. In 2013 Cowley was invited to Santa Fe University of Arts and Design Artsfest as part of their summer workshops programme teaching Concept Art for Games. Being well received he was asked back to deliver the same summer workshop the following year. That same year Cowley began working at the Media Design School tutoring Traditional Art for the Bachelor of Creative Technologies (2013). He was in that role until 2022 when the Media Design School contracted Cowley to be their Māori and Pasifika Community Engagement Consultant. He is still in this role to the present day.

In 2019 Cowley directed, wrote, animated and starred in his first short film documentary, Meet Munch Jr (2019), to much praise and acclaim. The short documentary film features his first-born son, Nikau, who is an aspiring puppeteer that is also neurodivergent living with Aspergers Syndrome, a neurodevelopmental condition that is a part of the autism spectrum. Being active members of The Pasifika Autism Support Group since 2009 Cowley and his wife Donna (Ngatiwai) found a group of parents with a similar struggle of trying to raise neurodivergent children on the autism spectrum in a Pasifika context. Cowley took his opportunity with Loading Docs. to create a short film that can also be used as a resource for the Pasifika Autism support Group and the wider Pasifika community. The short documentary was the winner of Best Short Documentary at the Top Shorts Film Festival 2019 as well as being accepted into Entr'2 Marches International Film Festival in Cannes, France in 2020.

Cowley was a member of the Pacific Island Film and Television's Board of Advisors from 2016 – 2017.

As an established artist Cowley has given back to his community by giving fundamental animation workshops with Maka Makatoa for Auckland's youth. He also was Co-Curator and a speaker alongside other prominent Pasifika digital artists atOtara 4.0 – a series of talanoa sessions given by established Pasifika artists. Cowley co-curated this event alongside Ikopeta Magele-Suamasi and Andrew Tui. Cowley also curated an exhibition named Altered Egos that featured 5 other Polynesian digital artists with different digital art skill backgrounds. The exhibition was a part of the Pop Culture Art Exhibition at Mangere Arts Centre for the Urbanesia Festival 2016. He exhibited his work here alongside his curated artists.

Cowley is currently self-directed in writing, directing and animating an original animated short film.