In 2022, The Getty Foundation launched “Getty Marrow Emerging Professionals,” a new program dedicated to supporting early-career individuals from underrepresented groups in the arts. With the Getty Foundation’s support, ten Los Angeles arts institutions will now provide two-years of meaningful entry-level employment while offering mentoring opportunities to kickstart longer careers in the arts. These positions are available to alumni of the Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship program, and each participating organization will have the option to extend the role for a third year. The Getty Marrow Emerging Professionals is the first program in the country that is exclusively dedicated to creating coordinated, early-positions at multiple institutions within the same geographic region.
In Los Angeles County, only 26% of the population identifies as white. Yet, this demographic accounts for 59% of the arts workforce (Getty Foundation, 2020). Reports from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation show an even higher disparity nationwide, with white staff accounting for 72% of the art museum workforce. Since 1993, the Getty Foundation has been working to address this underrepresentation by providing full-time, paid summer opportunities with its Getty Marrow Internship program. Still, its internship alumni have shared their difficulties in finding meaningful, full-time employment to provide the foundation for their careers in the arts.
This pilot program seeks to address this very concern. Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation, shares “We hope to accomplish two things with this program…We’re investing in emerging professionals who want to make their career in the arts and we’re supporting institutions with a strong commitment to diversifying their staff. Coordinated efforts like this one are necessary if we want to bring new voices and perspectives into our cultural institutions.”
The new Emerging Professionals program will include a strong mentoring component, peer-to-peer networking for participants, and a professional development stipend for customized learning tailored to fit each individual’s needs.
The program will include 11 positions that span three core areas of museum work: Collections Care and Management; Education, Interpretation, Public Programming and Community Engagement; and Curatorial Practice.
Participating organizations include Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Armory Center for the Arts, the Autry Museum of the American West, the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College, the Hammer Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Self Help Graphics & Art, and the Skirball Cultural Center. Getty will also host two positions: one at the Getty Museum and another at the Getty Research Institute.
Read more at the Getty Foundation's website.