The Getty Foundation announced late last week a new pilot program for emerging arts professionals from historically underrepresented groups, funding two-year positions at 10 Los Angeles arts institutions. The Getty Marrow Emerging Professionals pilot program — named after Deborah Marrow, the former Getty Foundation director who spearheaded an undergraduate internship initiative at the organization — is an extension of the internship, open only to alumni of that program.
Some of the new positions funded by the Getty include a repatriation assistant at the Autry Museum of the American West, who will gain expertise on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and how it is implemented at a museum; an exhibitions coordinator at the Skirball Cultural Center, who will manage four to nine temporary exhibitions at the Jewish educational center; and an assistant educator at the Hammer Museum, who will become a gallery educator and lead tours. The Getty itself will host two positions — one at the Getty Museum, and the other at the Getty Research Institute. Other participating institutions are the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures; the Armory Center for the Arts; the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; ONE Archives at the USC Libraries; and Self Help Graphics & Art.
Heber Rodriguez, an alumnus of the Getty Marrow internship and an exhibition program production manager at Armory Center for the Arts, emphasized in a statement that “active mentorship and continuous professional development are important elements of the lifting-as-we-climb model of support for the next generation of arts professionals.”
The pilot program is the enactment of a promise the Getty Foundation made in 2020 evaluating the success of its internship program. “Getty will continue the Getty Marrow internship program, pilot and implement new professional development opportunities, and focus on early-career interventions for alumni,” the report read.
That report also highlighted continuing disparities in the arts sector, noting that in Los Angeles County, 59% of those working in the arts identified as White, even though White individuals make up only 26% of the population.
“We’re investing in emerging professionals who want to make their careers in the arts and we’re supporting institutions with a strong commitment to diversifying their staff,” Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation, said in a statement. “Coordinated efforts like this one are necessary if we want to bring new voices and perspectives into our cultural institutions.”
Host organizations will begin recruitment this summer and hire employees into their roles by January 2023. A list of posted positions is available on Getty’s website.