Conservation News, February 2024

Old Cities, New Challenges 2024 Workshop

April 17–June 22, 2024

An eight-week online workshop for urban conservation in Southeast Asia

Application deadline extended. Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis until the course is fully enrolled.

To help advance urban conservation practice in Southeast Asia, we are again partnering with Think City Institute to offer our online course for urban planners, architects, and associated urban conservation professionals from Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries.

The course will follow the Historic Urban Landscape approach and will examine methodologies, practical tools, and techniques for the conservation of historic places. In addition to the online workshop, there is the potential for an onsite case study later in 2024.

Read details and apply online via the Think City Institute website

International Course on the Conservation of Earthen Architecture

January 25 to February 23, 2025
Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Nizwa, Oman

The third session of this month-long training initiative will be held in the World Heritage city of Al Ain, UAE, and in Nizwa, Oman. The course is organized by the Getty Conservation Institute in partnership with Department of Culture and Tourism–Abu Dhabi and the Oman Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.

The course aims to improve the practice of earthen heritage conservation by providing practical training for mid-career professionals from the Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian regions.

Learn more and apply by April 15, 2024

Public Art Inside Out Symposium

May 7–8, 2024
Museo delle Culture (MUDEC), Milan

Registration Now Open

A two-day international symposium co-organized with MUDEC exploring issues related to public art in all its forms and multi-vocality. The symposium will be held in English.

The registration fee for the symposium is $150 USD. The student rate is $75 USD.

Visit symposium website to learn more and register by April 30, 2024

Andrew W. Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation

Are you a student or recent graduate interested in preserving art and cultural heritage?

The Andrew W. Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation is a summer workshop that introduces students from historically underrepresented communities to the field of cultural heritage conservation. This program is hosted by the UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage.

Virtual information session and Q&A
​February 28, 2024 at 12 pm (PST)

Learn more and register for the virtual information session

In January, we stopped by the UCLA/Getty program labs at the Getty Villa where students from the program were polishing steel coupons for a coatings test.  They’re testing various coatings, including waxes and acrylic resins, on metals to see how the coatings erode over time.

See photos from our visit on our Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) accounts.

Welcome to our Winter Conservation Guest Scholars

Our winter cohort of scholars arrived in January. Pictured from left to right: Cornelius Holtorf is UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures at Linnaeus University, Giorgio Buccellati is Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles, and David Saunders is Honorary Research Fellow at the British Museum. They are in residence through the end of March.

The Conservation Guest Scholars program provides opportunities for professionals to pursue research on topics that bring new knowledge and fresh perspectives to the field of conservation.

Learn more about the Conservation Guest Scholars program

Modern Architecture Needs Protecting Too

At the dawn of the 20th century, a new world was under construction.

Steel, glass, and concrete could be produced on a massive scale thanks to the industrial revolution, and urban development flourished. Suddenly, everything could be made bigger and faster, resulting in new forms of architecture, new cities, and new means of transportation that transformed people’s daily lives.

Last August, twenty-six modern heritage professionals visited Getty as part of the International Course on the Conservation of Modern Heritage, a course designed to address the issue of modern heritage conservation.

Read the full story

But It’s Not That Old!

“Modern heritage in the Philippines is underappreciated,” said Gerard Rey Lico, a participant in our International Course on the Conservation of Modern Heritage. Many Filipinos “don’t even consider it heritage because it’s not old enough.” Lico seeks to change that.

Read the full story

International Course on the Conservation of Modern Heritage

Coming in Spring-Summer 2025


Online and in-person in Los Angeles

Targeting mid-career professionals, the course aims to advance the conservation of modern heritage, landscapes, and architecture by providing participants with methodological and practical tools through lectures, discussions, exercises, demonstrations, site visits, and field projects.

Applications will open June 1, 2024.

To be notified when applications are open, please email cmaitraining@getty.edu to be added to our mailing list.

Learn more about the course

Artist Dialogues: Gala Porras-Kim

Conceptual artist Gala Porras-Kim, Getty’s Artist in Residence from 2020 to 2022, is the subject of the latest film in our Artist Dialogues series, which engages L.A. artists in conversations exploring their art, materials, fabrication processes, and working methods, as well as their thoughts on conservation.

In December, Gala Porras-Kim joined Sanchita Balachandran for a screening of Gala Porras-Kim, the Living Collection followed by a Q&A about her work. Watch the Q&A on our YouTube channel.

New in the Conservation Collection

Newly available in the Conservation Collection are books about architectural additions, 20th century paints, portrait miniatures, plastics conservation, Mexican mural paintings, Renaissance panel paintings, restoration theory, and color in Classical sculpture. 

See the full list of new titles

AATA Online Winter Update

The winter 2024 update includes abstracts on the complex properties of plastics, street art and anti-graffiti coatings, paintings by Andrea del Sarto, artists’ materials, textiles from Abegg-Stiftung, and videos from the National Gallery, London.

Search AATA online

Project Manager, Arches Project

Application deadline extended

We are seeking a highly-motivated, self-directed and organized information technology professional to support the Arches Project, an open source data-management platform providing a robust suite of software tools for a broad range of data-management needs of the international cultural heritage community. 

Learn more and apply by February 15, 2024

Project Specialist, Wall Paintings Conservation

Application deadline extended

We are seeking a conservation professional with experience in the conservation of wall paintings and architectural surfaces, and a keen interest in research, documentation, practical conservation, and training.

Learn more and apply by February 15, 2024

Senior Project Specialist, Managing Collection Environments

We are seeking a conservation professional with high-level experience in preventive conservation and a keen interest in education to fill a four-year limited-term position in our Collections Department.

Learn more and apply by February 27, 2024

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