About

Lighting by Mark Dymock
Ballroom, Linda Lewis Productions and Nuffield Theatre Company, July 2004

    What is the ALD?
    Aims
    Can Anyone Join?
    What Are the Benefits of Membership?
    Structure
    History
    Who Are the Existing Members?
    How Can I Apply?
    More Questions?

What is the ALD?

The Association of Lighting Designers is the professional body representing lighting designers in all fields in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world. It exists to provide a resource and forum for the discussion and development of artistic and creative aims amongst designers from the fields of Theatre, Television, Architecture, Education, Industrial and Corporate Presentation and Manufacturing.

Aims

The ALD has the following aims:

To establish a body of lighting designers whose purpose is to further the art of lighting design for the theatre, live entertainment and associated industries and raise the professional status of the lighting designer as members of the creative production team.
To actively promote the education of lighting designers and to be available to act as an advisory body in this field.
To advise on the artistic suitability of lighting and control equipment and to bring to the notice of manufacturers any problems experienced in the use of their equipment, and to suggest improvements and modifications.
To represent the art of lighting and to ensure that members of the Association of Lighting Designers operate within its professional code and terms of contract as far as is possible.
To act as a resource for information about lighting designers, lighting art and the business of lighting design, as well as training and education for entrance into, and during the profession.

Can Anyone Join?

Yes. Associate membership is open to all, whilst Professional and Student membership have specific entry requirements. Corporate membership is available for companies in the lighting industry, and offers access to the most highly targeted database of UK lighting professionals available. We also offer membership for Non-Profit Organisations, particularly educational establishments, so they can hold Association publications and information for the public or students to refer to.

What Are the Benefits of Membership?

Lighting designers seldom work with other lighting designers. A principal purpose of the ALD is to provide a forum for LDs to meet each other, and discuss their art and issues affecting their working lives with their peers.
Members meetings take the form of: show briefings, where an LD will discuss the lighting design for a show they have lit with demonstrations in the theatre; product demonstrations by leading manufactures; and master classes with leading practitioners.
The ALD’s house magazine Focus is published bi-monthly, and members automatically receive Lighting & Sound International and Entertainment Technology magazines. The annual Yearbook gives a directory of members, as well as invaluable practical information that every lighting designer needs to hand. The ALD web site reflects and expands upon these publications, with many links to other sites of interest to the LD.
The Directory advertises Professional members to potential employers, ensuring that managements looking for lighting designers will find ALD members first.
The Association represents members’ interests in most negotiating environments. ALD members sit on the Equity Designers’ Committee (the union group that negotiates lighting design fees and contracts with the TMA, SOLT and ITC).
The ALD also provides a neutral intermediary in disputes between lighting designers and managements, offering advice and information based on a wealth of professional experience.

Structure

The ALD is a constitutionally formed Association run by an Executive Committee who report to the general members. The Executive deals with the day to day running of the association, formulating policy for ratification by the members, fielding enquiries from members and managements, representing members on other bodies and committees, publishing the Association’s magazine and other publications, setting up members’ meetings, entertainment, classes and organising the membership and finances of the Association.
Small working groups on the committee report to the Executive at regular executive committee meetings. An Annual General Meeting is held in June each year.

History

The Association of Lighting Designers grew out of the Society of British Theatre Lighting Designers. This club of designers expanded its membership in 1981 to embrace lighting professionals from all fields.
After original proposals that the new association should be a trade union, the first executive set out aims that embraced negotiations through the established trade unions, but which allowed the ALD to develop as a friendly society - an open forum for the discussion and furtherance of lighting art and the appraisal of production techniques and equipment.
With the explosion of lighting design within the creative process in stage production of the late 1980’s and early l990’s and the proliferation of lighting elements in educational courses in many colleges and institutions, the Association of Lighting Designers has consolidated its role as the focus of lighting throughout Britain.
The ALD is the mouthpiece of the lighting industry and the main resource for information and discussion on the wide range of lighting topics, that affect designers in the lighting profession.

Who Are the Existing Members?

The membership includes all the leading theatrical lighting designers in the UK and many around the world, as well as many LDs in other fields. Many lighting professionals from the manufacturing and service industries, as well as students and amateur lighting designers are also members.

How Can I Apply?

Ask for an application form. We can send you a set in the post or you can download them from the Membership pages of the ALD web site. If you wish to apply for Professional membership, we need a C.V. showing your professional lighting credits. If you wish to apply for Student membership, we need a letter from your Course Tutor stating that you are a full time student in Further or HIgher education - we can give you a letter introducing the ALD to your tutor.