IATSE, Reel Works Team to Train Hairstylists from Historically Excluded Backgrounds
As awareness over the need to diversify Hollywood’s hair and makeup trailers continues to grow, the union that represents those artists has teamed up with entertainment workforce development program Reel Works to help bring more BIPOC stylists into the industry.
The inaugural IATSE Entertainment Industry Hair Stylist Training, presented by Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists Local 798 and the Brooklyn-based nonprofit, took place from Jan. 11 to April 23, with a graduation ceremony for the first 12-person cohort this weekend. The idea was to expose licensed hairstylists to the employment opportunities available to them in film and television and prepare them for entertainment careers through the presentation of both theoretical information as well as practical, hands-on training in hair of all lengths and textures, focusing on period hairstyling, braiding and wig preparation.