Flying Bark Productions, a leading Australian animation studio, is thrilled to announce a momentous visit from Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium today as part of the Belgium Economic Mission to Australia.

Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid has a personal connection to the arts and creative industries, having studied art history in Leiden, in the Netherlands, and is renowned for her commitment to fostering cultural exchange and collaboration.

CEO of Flying Bark Productions, Barbara Stephen, expressed her excitement, saying, “We are honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid to our studio. As a proud member of the Studio 100 group, we feel a deep connection with Belgium and we are delighted to showcase our talented team and high-profile projects on the world stage.”

As part of this special event, Flying Bark will present Her Royal Highness with a custom illustration featuring herself against the backdrop of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge. The artwork was thoughtfully created by Jihee Park, a talented Korean-Australian illustrator who is a valued member of the specialised hand-drawn, traditionally influenced 2D animation team of which Flying Bark is known.

Jihee expressed her deep appreciation, stating, “It’s truly an honour to contribute to such a prestigious visit. Creating this illustration was a heartwarming experience, and I’m excited to see Princess Astrid’s reaction.”

Other notable attendees will include The Hon John Graham MLC, NSW Minister for the Arts; Hans Bourlon, Owner and CEO of Studio 100; Graeme Mason, CEO of Screen Australia; Anna Cho, Manager of Strategy, PDV & Digital Games at Screen NSW; Matthew Deaner, CEO of Screen Producers Australia; and Kate Marks, CEO of Ausfilm.

The visit comes at a timely moment for the NSW screen industry, with The Hon John Graham MLC recently announcing that essential screen industry programs – the Post Digital and Visual Effects (PDV) Rebate, Digital Games Development Rebate, and Made in NSW Fund – will continue under their existing terms. Flying Bark is one of the businesses to benefit from these funds, fuelling the company’s growth, attracting production expenditure and jobs to the state, and leading to fruitful collaborations with international industry giants such as Disney, Netflix, Paramount and Marvel.

Images and footage from the visit will be available HERE.