Art Directors Guild Reveals 2025 Career Honorees, Taps Carl Jules Weyl For Hall Of Fame
The Art Directors Guild has pulled back the curtain on its 2025 career honorees and added a legend from Hollywood’s Gold Age to its Hall of Fame.
Art department veterans Lisa Frazza, Barbara Mesney, Dan Sweetman and J. Dennis Washington are set for the guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award, while the late Oscar winner Carl Jules Weyl — whose credits also include Casablanca and The Adventures of Robin Hood — is its newest Hall of Famer. Read more about them below.
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They will be feted at ADG’s 29th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on February 15 at the the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown.
“We’re thrilled to recognize these fantastic artisans, who represent the pinnacle of craftsmanship and artistry in art departments,” ADG Awards producers Michael Allen Glover and Megan Elizabeth Bell said in a joint statement.
Here are bios of the 2025 honorees and the awards they’ll receive, provided by the Art Directors Guild:
Scenic artist Frazza will receive Lifetime Achievement Award recognition through the Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists Council, presented during the ADG Awards ceremony by Production Designer Jack Forrestel. Known for her innovative techniques and keen eye for details–as seen in her faux wood grain, marbelizing and mural work, Frazza worked on hundreds of TV shows during a long career at CBS Television Studios, including Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, The Late Late Show with James Corden, Dancing with the Stars, Survivor and 16 years on The Bold and the Beautiful. Inspired by early memories of visiting the Met, the New York City Ballet and Radio City Music Hall, Frazza began her career as a scenic artist for stage plays and operas.
The Set Designers & Model Makers are bestowing their Lifetime Achievement Award on set designer Barbara Mesney, presented by art director Dawn Swiderski. Mesney has worked on dozens of award-winning blockbuster films including Argo; Hail, Caesar!; Gone Girl; Anchorman; Captain America: The Winter Soldier; Crazy, Stupid, Love; Con Air and Mathilda, among many others. Mensey’s entertainment career began as a scenic designer and scenic artist for the stage, ultimately serving as associate designer for the American Conservatory Theatre and receiving numerous Dramalogue and Bay Area Theatre Critics Awards. Mesney began working as a set designer in 1989 on the feature film Class Action. In addition to her set design work, Mensey has been painting oil colors for three decades and volunteers with the Best Friends Animal Society.
Sweetman will receive his Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illustrators and Matte Artists Council, presented by storyboard artist David Lowery. With more than 30 years working in films, Sweetman has served as the Storyboard Artist for films including Braveheart, Contact, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Spider-Man, The Prestige, Alice in Wonderland, Birdman, and most recently Mufasa: The Lion King. Prior to his film work, Sweetman created illustrations for newspapers and magazines such as the LA Times and The New York Times and drew for Vertigo and DC Comics.
The Art Directors Council is also set to honor production designer Washington, celebrating his work over more than 50 years in the film industry. Washington’s award will be presented by agent Ann Murtha. Washington designed for films including Stand by Me, The Fugitive, Dante’s Peak, White Men Can’t Jump, Nebraska and 13 Days, as well as three films with the legendary director John Huston. Born in Santa Monica, Washington studied architecture in college. In 1965, MGM hired Washington as a junior set designer and he knew from that moment he would work in art departments for his whole career.
The ADG will bestow its Hall of Fame Honor on legendary art director Weyl. In the 1930s and 1940s, Weyl was renowned for his influential design on Hollywood classics including Casablanca and The Big Sleep. Weyl won a Best Art Direction Oscar for his work on the film The Adventures of Robin Hood and later nominated was in the same category for Mission to Moscow. He died in 1947.
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