Art Directors Guild

TheArt Directors Guild(ADG;IATSE Local 800) is alabor unionand local of theInternational Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE)representing 3,278motion picture and television professionals in the United States and Canada.

Art Directors Guild

The Art Directors Guild
Abbreviation	ADG
Nickname	IATSE Local 800
Merged into	Local 816 (Scenic, Title & Graphic Artists), Local 847 (Set Designers & Model Makers), and Local 790 (Illustrators & Matte Artists)
Founded	1937
Headquarters	11969 Ventura Blvd. 2nd Floor Studio City, California,91604, United States
Location	United States
Members(2023)	3,278
President	Nelson Coates
Executive Director	Chuck Parker
Parent organization	International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
Affiliations	AFL–CIO,IATSE
Website	adg.org

The ADG's sponsored activities include the annualADG Excellence in Production Design Awards,the professional quarterly news magazinePerspective,an art gallery calledGallery 800,technology training programs, and a film society.

Membership

Local 800 has four main craft classifications:

1. Art Directors(includingProduction Designers)
2. Scenic, Title andGraphic Artists
3. IllustratorsandMatte Artists
4. Set DesignersandModel Makers

In addition, the ADG has recently includedprevisartists into their membership.

Individual crafts represented by the ADG:

• Production designers
• Art directors
• Assistant art directors
• Set designers
• Graphic artists
• Illustrators
• Matte artists
• Model makers
• Scenic artists
• Previsartists

Origins

Art Directors Guild

The Art Directors Guild was originally named theSociety of Motion Picture Art Directors(SMPAD),which was founded by 59 Art Directors on May 6, 1937, at a meeting at theHollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

AfterWorld War II,many "below the line"industry labor organizations, including SMPAD, signed on with theIATSEfor overall union representation. SMPAD became more active, grew in membership, and expanded opportunities as television developed. In 1967 the Society included "television" to their name before settling on its current moniker, the "Art Directors Guild" in 1998.

The Art Directors Guild included only men until 1971. Production designerPolly Plattwas the first woman inducted into the Guild, in 1971.Toby Carr Rafelsonwas the second woman inducted.

Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists

The creation of its own local (formerly known as Local 816) in March 1949 marked the first time the Hollywood Scenic Artists and Title Artists had its own local representing its unique needs. Previously, the members were part of Local 644 of theConference of Studio Unions(CSU) working in film and theater. The overwhelming majority of Local 644's membership, however, had been made up of set painters and paperhangers and included set designers as well. It was not until the dissolution of the CSU after a long series of bitterly contested strikes that the scenic artists were able to organize exclusively. Those artists had been pioneers in their field, responsible for devising and developing the methods used to create representational scenery unsurpassed anywhere in the world.

The size and strength of the local grew with the inclusion of television contracts in the early 1950s. Television, at that time, was in effect an extension of live theater and required a lot of painted two-dimensional scenery instead of the three-dimensional sets used in film. As the nature of television scenery changed, the responsibilities of the television scenic artist broadened to include those of the set painter. Local 816 was the only local in the entertainment industry that worked in all three major areas of the business: film, television and theater.

In January 2003, the 850 members of ADG merged with the 650 memberScenic, Title and Graphic Artiststo form theArt Directors Guild & Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists.

Illustrators, Storyboard Artists and Matte Artists

In the 1930s, the Illustrators and Matte Artists were part of the Federation of Motion Picture Crafts. By 1941 they became a part of theConference of Studio Unions.In 1945, they received their own chartered local, Local 790 in IATSE, which by the 1950s became the dominant labor organization representing the motion picture and television job categories working behind the camera.

On July 1, 2008, under the orders ofIATSEInternational President Thomas C. Short, Local 790Illustrators & Matte Artistsand Local 847Set Designers and Model Makerswere merged into Local 800.

ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards

TheADG Excellence in Production Design Awardsare presented annually by the Art Directors Guild to "recognize excellence in production design and art direction in the film and television industries".

ADG Lifetime Achievement Award

TheADG Lifetime Achievement Awardis presented to individuals who have been outstanding in the four crafts of the Art Directors Guild.

Hall of fame

Main article:Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame

The Art Directors Guild established itsHall of Famein 2005 to honour the contributions of significant past production designers and art directors. The Hall of Fame inducts new members annually, with the first group formally inducted at the 9thAnnual Excellence in Production Design Awardsceremony on February 12, 2005.

Archive

TheAcademy Film Archivehouses the Art Directors Guild Collection, which consists of recordings from events and fifteen interviews conducted in 2012 and 2014 with scenic artists in which they discuss their profession and projects.

External links

• Art Directors Guildofficial site
• Art Directors Guildpage on IMDb
• IATSEofficial website
• Art Directors Guild collection,Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences