Draft:Guild of Natural Science Illustrators


The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI) is an international non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. to serve the field of visual science communication, including scientific illustration, medical illustration, and botanical illustration.[1][2]

The organization was founded in 1968 by a group of scientific and botanical illustrators working for the Smithsonian Institution.[3][4] It began as a network for the Institution's scientific illustrators to connect across different departments, but quickly expanded to include illustrators at other institutions as well as freelancers.[4]

The majority of the Guild's activity each year takes place at their annual conference (Visual SciComm Conference). These conferences are typically based in the United States, though conferences have also been hosted in Évora, Portugal (2000) and Brisbane, Australia (2019). Local year-round activities occur in Guild groups or chapters.[5] These groups and chapters cover a smaller geographic area, such as the Finger Lakes Region or the Great Plains. Chapters host local meet-ups, workshops, and group exhibitions to promote the professional activity of their members and perform outreach to the local community.[6][7][8] Chapter exhibitions often focus on topical scientific issues, such as local wildlife or the connection between biodiversity loss and food insecurity.[9]

The Guild is also responsible for publishing the Journal of Natural Science Illustration (JNSI) three times each year.[10] Typical JNSI articles include professional advice, technique tutorials, book reviews in the field, member work, and historical insights.[11]

Many GNSI members also maintain membership with other similar organizations, including the Association of Medical Illustrators and the American Society of Botanical Artists.

Conferences

edit

The first meetings were held in 1968 in Washington, D.C., and by 1979 had grown to annual conferences held each summer.[3] Conferences between 2020 and 2023 were held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024 the Guild announced that it would host in-person conferences and virtual conferences on alternating years, starting with a 2025 in-person conference at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Conference activities include plenary talks from notable professionals in science or scientific illustration, concurrent talks, a live technique demonstration, workshops, field trips to local science or nature activities, and a reception for a juried members exhibition at an exhibit space local to the conference area.[12][13]

Conference Locations

edit

Conference locations change annually.[14] They are most frequently held on university campuses. Several locations, such as University of California, Santa Cruz, Arcadia University, Rhode Island School of Design, and Savannah College of Art and Design were selected because the institutions have majors or significant coursework for scientific illustration at an undergraduate or certificate level.[15]

Host Institutions and Locations of Past GNSI Conferences[14]
Year Host City State/Province
1968 Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C.
1979 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
1980 Savannah Georgia
1981 Gainesville Florida
1982 Seattle Washington
1983 Ann Arbor Michigan
1984 Rhode Island School of Design Providence Rhode Island
1985 University of San Francisco San Francisco California
1986 Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C.
1987 University of Georgia Athens Georgia
1988 Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado
1989 University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California
1990 University of Minnesota Minneapolis Minnesota
1991 Duke University Durham North Carolina
1992 University of Southern Colorado Pueblo Colorado
1993 Western Washington University Bellingham Washington
1994 Orlando Florida
1995 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff Arizona
1996 Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C.
1997 University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California
1998 Iowa State University Ames Iowa
1999 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and

Washington State University Tri-Cities

Richland Washington
2000 University of Évora Évora Alentejo
2001 College of the Atlantic Bar Harbor Maine
2002 University of Kansas Lawrence Kansas
2003 University of Denver Denver Colorado
2004 College of William & Mary Williamsburg Virginia
2005 College of the Atlantic Bar Harbor Maine
2006 University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison Wisconsin
2007 Montana State University Bozeman Montana
2008 Cornell University Ithaca New York
2009 University of Maine at Fort Kent Fort Kent Maine
2010 North Carolina State University Raleigh North Carolina
2011 Evergreen State College Olympia Washington
2012 Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah Georgia
2013 College of the Atlantic Bar Harbor Maine
2014 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder Colorado
2015 Arcadia University Glenside Pennsylvania
2016 University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California
2017 Warren Wilson College Asheville North Carolina
2018 American University Washington, D.C.
2019 University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland
2020 Virtual conference
2021 Virtual conference
2022 Virtual conference
2023 Virtual conference
2024 No conference held
2025 Bridgewater State University Bridgewater Massachusetts

Notable Conference Speakers

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, GNSI". Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  2. ^ "Guild of Natural Science Illustrators". Yale Office of Career Strategy. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  3. ^ a b c d Thomas, Nick (2008-07-01). "Science artists draw together". Nature. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  4. ^ a b "The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators". Bulletin of the Entomological Society of America. 16 (3): 153–153. 1970-09-15. doi:10.1093/besa/16.3.153. ISSN 0013-8754.
  5. ^ "Local Chapters & Groups | Guild of Natural Science Illustrators". Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  6. ^ "Love Library features Natural Science illustrations". University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  7. ^ "FLX Chapter of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators to host show at TCFA". The Ithaca Voice. 2020-02-21. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  8. ^ "Artworks by N.E. Chapter of Guild of Natural Science Illustrators are on exhibit at the state art gallery". Rhode Island Government. 2021-10-07. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  9. ^ "Science illustrators show beauty of symbiosis". Cornell University Library. 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  10. ^ "Natural Science Illustration - GNSI Journal Articles". Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  11. ^ "Sydney Prentice (1873-1943) : The Art of Drawing Fossil Whale Bones, Journal of Natural Science Illustration, vol. 45, no., 2013". Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. 2013. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  12. ^ "Visualize: Art Revealing Science | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)". American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  13. ^ Sullivan, Autumn (2012-07-06). "Savannah hosts National Guild of Science Illustrators conference at SCAD". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  14. ^ a b "GNSI Past Conferences". Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  15. ^ "What is Scientific Illustration? - SCAD HoneyDripper". 2022-03-08. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  16. ^ a b c Nastase, Emily (2018-09-07). "Guild of Natural Science Illustrators 2018 Annual Conference". University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Integration and Application Network. Retrieved 2024-11-13.