On Wednesday, Getty announced that it would launch a new plan to further sustainability efforts in the arts and culture.
The Getty Global Arts and Sustainability Fellow Program will support early career professionals and visual artists focused on climate resilience. As part of the program, Getty will support 15 cultural and scientific organizations on six continents over a two-year cycle.
“Getty initiated this move in a global focus on climate threats and the need for practical solutions, and we continue to believe that art can play an unorthodox but compelling role in this conversation,” Katherine Fleming, president and CEO of J. Paul Getty Trust, said in a statement. “This is only part of a larger, holistic approach to sustainability, including its physical location, many global projects, and major regional collaborations like PST Art: Art and science collide. ”
Participated in organizations include the Athens Academy in Greece, book ceremonies in France, Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain, James Cook University in Australia, James Cook University of Australia, Paraense paraenseeemíliiogoeldi in Brazil, Rochester Institute of Newapore Arternety in Singapore, National Gallery Singapore, University of London Museum of Art Museum in London, Residence Program in Mount Deniston, USA, Luma in France Arles, Pivô, Pivô in Brazil, Srihatta in Bangladesh, Tate St Ives in Britain and Morocco’s mothership.
“The ability of these partners to choose to advance the field at the intersection with sustainability, and we expect their efforts as part of the program to contribute leadership and change in this area,” Getty Director of Sustainability Camille Kirk said in a statement.
There, Getty Global Fellow will identify sustainable management of heritage resources, apply key priorities for new scientific advancements in these cultural institutions, and communicate to the wider publicly specific climate and biodiversity crisis. They will work to protect collectibles and sites threatened by climate change through technical investigations and programs.
Another aim is to raise awareness of climate resilience through artists’ living, public art, and the dissemination of information on climate action.
Fellows come from a range of disciplines including higher education, museums and galleries, libraries and archives, cultural heritage management and visual arts. Everyone will be at least two years, with the organization at most three consecutive researchers.
For example, they will work on projects ranging from mathematical modeling of the impact of different environmental scenarios on artifacts in the documentary community to the impact of an expanded climate vulnerability index (CVI) assessment tool on World Heritage properties and other sites.
Scott Heron, a physics professor at James Cook University, we urgently need more qualified professionals in heritage sustainability, so our first Getty Global Fellow will focus on expanding training to accelerate CVI implementation in high-demand areas around the world. ”
He added: “We are also working with indigenous people to tailor CVI methods to the perspective of indigenous groups. The land and maritime countries of many ethnic groups are at higher risk areas.” So far, CVI has been implemented on 19 UNESCO websites.
Amid ongoing disasters, global climate continues to change, such as hurricanes in Asheville and wildfires in Los Angeles, often with devastating consequences.
Getty itself took huge precautions, which went unscathed in the Los Angeles fire last year. Despite this preparation, the agency soon realized that it was also not immune to the consequences of rapid climate change, and could even cash out $500 million in bonds to further increase protection for future natural disasters.
As a result, Getty’s latest move marks another step towards a deeper sustainability effort, having a lasting global impact among some of the world’s most prominent cultural institutions.
