Getty Conservation Institute

The General Consul of Spain in Los Angeles, Mr. Gerardo Fueyo Bros, together with the Cultural Counselor of Spain, Mr. Antonio Álvarez Barthe, visited the Getty Center last month. They began their visit at the Conservation Institute, touring our facilities with Stavroula Golfomitsou, head of our Collections department, and Ana Pastor Pérez, senior archaeologist. This was followed by a visit to the Getty Research Institute, accompanied by Idurre Alonso, head of Modern and Contemporary Collections, and a tour of the Getty Museum led by education specialist Liz Andres. The purpose of the visit was to learn about the artifacts of Spanish origin held by Getty, discuss partnerships with Spanish institutions, and explore ways to strengthen ties and develop new avenues of collaboration. It also provided an opportunity to highlight the value of our human and social capital, as well as the role our institutions play on the international stage.

It's #FreeFriday! Today we're featuring "Managing Change: Sustainable Approaches to the Conservation of the Built Environment," proceedings of the 4th Annual @WHUSA1965 International Symposium, held in 2001 and co-organized with the Historic Preservation program @WeitzmanSchool gty.art/330Rfus

Did you know that, despite the abundance of Black heritage sites worldwide, only about 3 percent of sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places recognize Black history? In Los Angeles, just over 4 percent of the city’s 1,319 designated landmarks are associated with African American history. To help address this disparity, the Getty Foundation partnered with the National Trust for Historic Preservation African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund to launch Conserving Black Modernism, a $4.6 million grant program supporting the preservation of modern sites designed by Black architects and designers across the United States. Complementing this national effort, we're collaborating locally with the City of Los Angeles’s Office of Historic Resources to advance the African American Historic Places Los Angeles project, which empowers communities to identify, document, and steward their own heritage. Learn more about these endeavors: 🔗 gty.art/4dRwNU2 📷: Bill Sampson (left) performs with a band at Jack’s Basket Room, the famed South Central after-hours jazz club known as “the place where everyone comes to play.” Courtesy of the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center, CSUN 📷: Conserving Black Modernism workshop attendees review materials from the Paul R. Williams Collection. The Getty Research Institute holds the archive of architect Paul R. Williams (1894–1980), the first African American AIA member, including original sketches, drawings, and personal papers. Jointly owned by the USC School of Architecture and the Getty Research Institute. © Della M. Williams Trust. Dated December 15, 1988 📷: Exterior of the Dunbar Hotel, the historic Black-owned landmark that anchored Central Avenue’s 1930s–’40s jazz scene and was later restored as part of the Dunbar Village redevelopment. Cbl62, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 📷: Conserving Black Modernism workshop attendees touring Carson City Hall, a Late Modern architectural gem designed by a diverse team led by prominent Black architect Robert Kennard.

📢 Conservation professionals! Apply now for a training workshop on the patination of bronze sculpture. Applications due by May 31, 2026. gty.art/4cBQKOg The third-iteration of this four-day workshop equips conservators with the practical skills and knowledge needed to better understand chemical patinas and their application and to effectively communicate with artists and fabricators about patination when necessary. It will be held October 27–30, 2026, at the Getty Center in LA. Photo by Karen Du. © 2025 J. Paul Getty Trust

📚 New to the Conservation Collection 📚 Recent additions include books on textile technique with indigo, conservation as a social science, Japanese ceramic techniques with colored clay, issues pertaining to ethnographic museums, critical explorations of the impact of urban development, professional principles in de-carbonizing the built environment, new archaeological research in Rapa Nui and the Pacific, and the architectural history of the Oratory of the Madonna della Salute in Italy. See the full list (PDF): gty.art/3PCrYVt

Join us for a free webinar: Shifting Perspectives on Damage, Change, and Value 📆 Thursday, June 11 🕘 9:00–10:30 AM (PST) 🎟️ Registration required: gty.art/3Pza4D0 Hosted by the American Institute for Conservation's Microfading Tester International Discussion Group and Preventive Care Network, this webinar explores the boundaries between material change, damage, and value, revealing how museum policies can shift from the reduction of risk for material loss at all costs to the creation of value through increasing object access, visibility, and connection. While scientific tools offer more precise ways to detect material change, recognizing that damage is a value-based judgment, rather than an objective outcome, becomes critical. This webinar extends the discussion from the session of the same name at the 2026 AIC/CAC-ACCR annual meeting. 🔗 Learn more: bit.ly/3RAQ7w9

Ofelia and Rosanna Esparza: Film Screening and Artist Q&A 🗓️ Saturday, June 6, 2026 🕒 3:00 pm 📍Getty Center and Online Free 🔗RSVP to attend in person or online: gty.art/4umwXsz Long recognized for their role in helping establish and sustain Día de los Muertos traditions in the city, Ofelia Esparza and her daughter, Rosanna Esparza Ahrens, have shaped the practice of creating ofrendas, or altars, as both a communal ritual and a contemporary art form. In the short film, "Ofelia and Rosanna Esparza: Made to Remember" (11:55 min), they reflect on the ofrenda as both cultural obligation and art: a bridge between the living and the dead, and between the stories of generations past and those yet to come. Following the screening, Ofelia and Rosanna Esparza will join Los Angeles County's Civic Art Conservation and Collections Manager Laleña Vellanoweth for a conversation on the conservation of their work and audience Q&A. This film is part of the Artist Dialogues series. 🖼️ "Raíces Cósmicas" (Cosmic Roots) by Ofelia Esparza, 2018. 📸 Courtesy of the Artist and the Vincent Price Art Museum

📢 Conservation professionals! Apply now for a training workshop on the patination of bronze sculpture. Applications due by May 31, 2026. gty.art/4cBQKOg The third-iteration of this four-day workshop equips conservators with the practical skills and knowledge needed to better understand chemical patinas and their application and to effectively communicate with artists and fabricators about patination when necessary. It will be held October 27–30, 2026, at the Getty Center in LA. Photo by Karen Du. © 2025 J. Paul Getty Trust

It's our #OpenAccess #ArticleOfTheMonth! Published in the International Journal of Architectural Heritage, this article introduces a definition of structural typologies and selection of representative buildings for seismic assessment in Bagan Archaeological Site gty.art/4nt1odP

The final day of our Designing Digital Preservation Strategies Across Contexts convening focused on bridging theory with practice. Building on the challenges and educational gaps identified on days 1 and 2, participants discussed actionable solutions for digital preservation practitioners working across varying contexts Through collaborative brainstorming and discussions, the group identified priority action areas and key audiences, emphasizing that advocacy and awareness are central to the long-term preservation of digital heritage. Stay tuned for a forthcoming report on these insights.

Alta / A Human Atlas of a City of Angels on View at Glendale Central Library This exhibition, initially created for PST ART: Art & Science Collide, weaves together portraiture, personal narratives, and ancestral DNA data to map L.A.’s layered identities through the lives of 100 Angelenos who have made significant contributions to the city. On view at ReflectSpace at the Glendale Central Library now through July 12, 2026. Details, opening hours, and parking gty.art/4eAvEkF Photo: Marcus Lyon

It's #FreeFriday! The protection of collections from damage due to museum pests is a serious problem. This book describes successful insect eradication procedures developed at the GCI and elsewhere by the process of anoxia gty.art/2ZPN4T2

This week, we’re hosting an experts meeting on Designing Digital Preservation Strategies Across Contexts, in collaboration with Getty Digital. This convening brings together 28 professionals from Australia, Chile, Ireland, Kenya, Lebanon, Malawi, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, the Cherokee Nation, and the United States to advance digital preservation practice. Over the next several days, discussions will explore how institutional, geographic, and socio-technical contexts shape digital preservation practice, and examine how digital preservation knowledge and skills are currently developed across academic programs, professional training pathways, and self-guided learning opportunities. Stay connected for more updates! See less

📢 Conservation professionals! Apply now for a training workshop on the patination of bronze sculpture. Applications due by May 31, 2026. gty.art/4cBQKOg The third-iteration of this four-day workshop equips conservators with the practical skills and knowledge needed to better understand chemical patinas and their application and to effectively communicate with artists and fabricators about patination when necessary. It will be held October 27–30, 2026, at the Getty Center in LA. Photo by Karen Du. © 2025 J. Paul Getty Trust

🗣️ We’d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts on the Getty Conservation Institute's digital content. What parts of our work resonate most with you? How would you prefer to stay connected and informed? Take our quick 3‑minute survey: gty.art/48nfsPY

🚨 Last week to apply for this job opening! 🚨 Project Specialist, Earthen Architecture Initiative We are seeking an architectural conservator with a keen interest in research, documentation, and training to fill the position of Project Specialist. You will be an integral member of our Buildings and Sites department, primarily contributing to the Earthen Architecture Initiative and addressing current conservation challenges of regional or international relevance. 🔗 Learn more and apply by May 13: gty.art/41avfgU

Congratulations to the team behind “Managing Collection Environments: Technical Notes and Guidance," winner of the 2026 Publication Award by the American Institute for Conservation! This publication brings together sixteen technical notes by eleven authors, providing a holistic perspective on the sustainable environmental management of collections in museums, galleries, archives, and libraries. The award, presented last week at the AIC Annual Meeting in Montreal, recognizes excellence in a conservation publication. 📘 Read it for free here: gty.art/4uxtjf7

📢 Conservation professionals! Apply now for a training workshop on the patination of bronze sculpture. Applications due by May 31, 2026. gty.art/4cBQKOg The third-iteration of this four-day workshop equips conservators with the practical skills and knowledge needed to better understand chemical patinas and their application and to effectively communicate with artists and fabricators about patination when necessary. It will be held October 27–30, 2026, at the Getty Center in LA. Photo by Karen Du. © 2025 J. Paul Getty Trust