Gallery Spotlight: The Art of Special Effects Makeup with Ken Diaz

Complimentary with general museum admission, the Gallery Spotlight Series is a monthly conversation with featured guests.

The Education and Public Engagement team invites visitors to explore Stories of Cinema, the Academy Museum’s ongoing core exhibition that presents the diverse, international, and complex stories of moviemakers and the works they create.

Hair and makeup design is critical to the creation of a character. Its effect on the actor might be dramatic or subtle, and could involve any combination of glamour, aging, fantasy, special effects, biographical realism, or period details that recall a specific era.

Join the Academy Museum in a discussion with Ken Diaz, a makeup artist and designer, on his nearly five decades of creating and transforming memorable characters on screen. The conversation will also highlight the art of creating movie tattoos for films such as Training Day (2001), Red Dragon (2002), and Black Panther (2018).

The conversation will take place in the Ted Mann Lobby located on Lower Level 1. Visitors are encouraged to visit the Identity gallery on Level 2 before or after the conversation.

ABOUT KEN DIAZ

With a career spanning over 45 years, Ken Diaz is a seasoned makeup artist, designer, and department head in motion pictures and television. His expertise in character development, beauty, age transitions, tattoos, facial hair, and special makeup effects is widely recognized. Ken Diaz's talent has been acknowledged with numerous awards, including two Academy Award® nominations. His first nomination was for the 20-year aging makeup on Jack Lemon in the film Dad (1989), and the second was for the age transition makeup in the multi-generational Latino roots film My Family (Mi familia, 1995). He has also won Emmy Awards for Alien Nation, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Westworld, and many other prestigious awards. His managerial skills, problem-solving abilities, and innovative approaches as the special makeup effects coordinator on John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) was instrumental in creating many of the film’s milestone special makeup effects.

His tattoo design work can be seen in films like Zoot Suit (1981), Blood In Blood Out (1993), Training Day (2001), Red Dragon (2002), Shot Caller (2017), and more recently, the Okoye Head Tattoo in the movies Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). He is also a well-respected lecturer, educator, and mentor. For the last 30 years, Ken has also been giving back to his community by participating in gang outreach programs, speaking at At-Risk Youth programs, and in juvenile halls.

If you have any questions or need assistance planning your visit, please email museumeducation@oscars.org.

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