The Arts Union () was a trade union representing cultural workers in West Germany.
The union was founded on 26 August 1949, at a conference in Frankfurt. It was initially based in Hamburg, but relocated to Düsseldorf in 1955.
The union initially had five sections:
Association of Visual Artists German Musicians' Union Guild of the German Stage International Artists' Lodge Professional Association of Journalists and Writers (transferred to Printing and Paper Union in 1951)
Other sections were created later, including the Broadcast Television Film Union, the Union of Music Educators and Concert Artists, and the Jazz/rock/pop/improvised music group.
By 1988, the union had a membership of 29,613. The following year, it merged with the Printing and Paper Union, to form the Media Union.
Presidents 1949: Willi Feldmann 1954: Heinrich Wüllner 1962: Viktor de Kowa 1966: Wolfgang Windgassen 1973: Otto Sprenger 1980: Alfred Horné
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