Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/629850
12 P E R S P E C T I V E | M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 6 AN ENVIRONMENT FOR CREATIVITY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INCLUSION by Nelson Coates, Art Directors Guild President One of the challenging and invigorating aspects of constructing a narrative design team is the process of interviewing and meeting prospective team members. Listening to life and work stories, looking through portfolios, assessing the personality vibe, work process and energy matching…all in a few days' work. Good decisions at this juncture can make all the difference in the outcome of the design and the project. Good decisions at the juncture can also make a remarkable difference in the process itself. But ironically, even though Guild members work throughout North America and the world, the pool from which to pull potential crew can be fairly limiting. If working in tax incentive states, or countries flooded with projects, often you are lucky to find a crew that has more than one or two shows as experience. And just to get positions filled, you often feel relief. As shows come and go, we have the added real responsibility of providing opportunities for the next generation, and being cognizant of the need to create and provide opportunities for artists of all backgrounds, ethnicities, genders and socioeconomic strata. Along the way, we have to encourage those who have the talent to discover the career opportunities in the lesser known aspects of our craft. Too often, graduates from various celebrated programs get lost in the shuffle on their way to find employment. If they can't head a department right away, they are not interested. If they see no clear way forward, they fall by the wayside. We need to encourage up-and-coming artists to pursue all of the many crafts that comprise our Guild. We need to foster an environment of mentoring. We must go above and beyond to grow the pool of potential design team professionals, so that the face and breadth of our departments is reflective of our society at large. Hiring a diverse crew is challenging when potential diverse team members haven't been trained or encouraged to enter into any of our Guild's professions, or are just not aware that the opportunities even exist. How best to make a difference for the future of our industry and our Guild? • Speaking to high school and college groups, educating the public. • Making a concerted effort to work with organizations such as Inner-City Filmmakers, who strive to train those who otherwise might not get the opportunity. • Actively encouraging those who show potential to look to our crafts and then mentoring those who show interest. Finding a way forward, such as through our internship program is imperative for the future of film and television design. We need to challenge ourselves to move beyond any comfort zone and see the potential for excellence in diversity. If the pool of potential team members doesn't include a diverse availability list, creating a diverse team is a challenge. As our audiences grow more savvy and more culturally aware, we need to grow along with them and create work environments that not only foster creativity, but also a diversity that reflects and strengthens the stories that need to be told. from the president