Getty Conservation Institute

We’re working to preserve the world’s cultural heritage with partners across the globe. Our home is the Getty Center in Los Angeles.

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

Please join us in welcoming three graduate interns to our Science department! This year, they'll contribute to projects that deepen our understanding of artists' materials and techniques, advance the conservation of historic buildings and decorated surfaces, and address preservation challenges facing modern and contemporary art.

From left to right:
• Jasper Montgomery, from Queen's University, Canada, is working on Technical Studies Research.
• Ilaria Alessi, from Università di Bologna, Italy, is supporting our Built Heritage Research Initiative and Decorated Surfaces work.
• Marina Bich, from University College London, United Kingdom, is working on our Modern and Contemporary Art Initiative.

We look forward to the insights, energy, and expertise they'll bring to these projects throughout the year. Learn more about Getty’s Graduate Internships: https://t.co/gG0EUDvm9k.

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

It's World Science Day! Here's a quick tour of our Science department. 👇

[Getty @GettyMuseum]

Did you know we have labs at the Getty Center?

Today is #WorldScienceDay! Getty's Science Department works in labs purpose-built to move the field of heritage conservation forward. What are they researching? https://t.co/p8sLx2otLl

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

Yesterday we announced the launch of Sacred Heritage in the Andes: Conserving the Baroque Church of Rondocan, a multi-year initiative to strengthen the 17th-century Church of Rondocan against earthquakes and support the long-term conservation of the site and its collection.

The launch was marked by a November 4 ceremony in Rondocan inaugurating the construction phase of the project, attended by representatives from the Peru's Ministry of Culture, the director of the Getty Conservation Institute, and other Getty officials.

In partnership with the Dirección Desconcentrada de Cultura de Cusco, experts from across Getty will develop a comprehensive conservation and seismic retrofitting project for this important earthen heritage site, which houses more than 300 cultural objects, including a significant series of paintings from Bernardo Bitti from the same period.

The project will also foster collaboration with local professionals and community members to support the site's ongoing stewardship and care long after the project is completed.

Construction on site will begin in 2027.

🔗 Visit the project page for the latest updates, publications, news, and conservation resources: https://t.co/NveOskEXqy

📷 Photos by Alejandra Vélez

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

We're proud to launch a new project to conserve the Church of Rondocan and its extraordinary collection. ⤵

[Getty @GettyMuseum]

Getty and Dirección Desconcentrada de Cultura – Cusco to conserve the Church of Rondocan and its collection. It was built in the 17th century high in the Peruvian Andes.

Its striking Baroque design and thick adobe walls are threatened by the many earthquakes in the region.

Learn more: https://t.co/5dBZtX7dYa

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

It's #FreeFriday! "The Conservation and Presentation of Mosaics: At What Cost?" focuses on the theme of cost, broadly considered, relating specifically to the preservation and presentation of the world's mosaic heritage @IccmMosaics https://t.co/Ha12ArE53P

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

🌐 Today we celebrate World Digital Preservation Day and this year's theme: "Save Our Stories (SOS): Our Digital Heritage in Danger."

As a supporting member of the Digital Preservation Coalition, which organizes this annual day of awareness and celebration, Getty joins colleagues and organizations around the world in recognizing the importance of safeguarding our digital heritage. To mark the occasion, Getty hosted an event earlier this week showcasing how preserving digital heritage is a shared commitment that reaches nearly every corner of the institution.

Staff from across the Museum, Research Institute, Conservation Institute, and Foundation shared how their work helps protect digital cultural heritage for generations to come. Presentations highlighted vital cross-program policies and workflows, audiovisual reformatting, digital recordkeeping practices, and more.

A big thank-you to everyone who presented, attended, and stayed to keep the conversation going during our reception. #WDPD2026

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

Join us for a special evening celebrating Peru's cultural heritage. 🇵🇪 All are welcome to attend this free public event highlighting our growing conservation work and partnerships in Peru.

📆 November 19, 2026
🕕 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. ⎸ Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
📍 Harold M. Williams Auditorium, Getty Center

Hear about efforts to conserve a sacred heritage site in the Andes and how the local community and Getty experts are working together to secure the future of this historic church and its extraordinary collection of cultural objects. Following the presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A and connect with fellow guests at a reception, including visiting representatives from Peru who are closely involved in the care and stewardship of the site.

Presented in collaboration with the Consulate General of Peru in Los Angeles.

Tickets are free but a reservation is required: https://t.co/8UVUEh2b04

📷 Interior of the Baroque Church of Rondocan with members of the local community. Photo by Alejandra Vélez.

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

How can 800-year-old adhesive technologies help us adapt to climate change?

We recently hosted Paul Kozowyk, post-doctoral researcher at the Delft University of Technology within the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, from October 4–16 for collaborative research on historical adhesives as part of the international Sticking Stones initiative. Led by Dr. Bettina Ebert at the University of Stavanger and funded by the Research Council of Norway, Sticking Stones brings together researchers from Norway, the Netherlands, and the United States to investigate how historic repair techniques, inspired by the discovery of hundreds of ancient wood tar repairs on Norway’s Stavanger Cathedral, can inform modern conservation.

Working alongside our scientists, including biologist Joy Mazurek, Kozowyk utilized advanced Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to analyze and integrate experimental results comparing medieval and modern wood tar adhesives.

By uncovering these forgotten historical craft techniques, Kozowyk’s collaborative visit helps pave the way for developing more sustainable, resilient materials to preserve vulnerable architectural stone heritage worldwide.

📸 Images:
🔹 Joy Mazurek and Paul Kozowyk discussing Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry results in the Conservation Institute laboratories.
🔹 Paul Kozowyk testing tar adhesives by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy in the Conservation Institute laboratories.
🔹 Documenting and sampling adhesive in Salisbury Cathedral, UK. Photo: University of Stavanger
🔹 Testing modern tar adhesive at the workshop for Aachen Cathedral, Germany. Photo: Paul Kozowyk

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

We're excited to welcome three graduate interns to our Collections department! This year, they'll support projects focused on modern and contemporary art, sustainable collection environments, and the conservation of decorated surfaces.

From left to right:
• Pia Shen, from University College London, is working on Modern and Contemporary Art Research.
• Candela Senabre, from Sorbonne University, Paris, is supporting our Managing Collection Environments Initiative.
• Alexa Kline (not pictured), from New York University, is working on Cleaning of Wooden Gilded Surfaces.

We look forward to supporting their work and welcoming the fresh perspectives they bring to these projects. Learn more about Getty’s Graduate Internships: https://t.co/gG0EUDvm9k

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

We’re excited to support efforts to preserve an important archaeological collection housed in the Stoa of Attalos at the Agora of Athens, Greece.

As part of our Managing Collection Environments initiative, which informs sustainable practices for collection environments, we’re collaborating with the American School of Classical Studies at Athens to conduct a year-long environmental monitoring of the collection’s storage spaces.

This summer, Stavroula Golfomitsou, head of our Collections department, and Theofanis Karafotias, collections care specialist, carried out a two-week campaign to monitor air pollutants and volatile organic compounds within the storage areas.

Using eight types of passive samplers, the team measured pollutants in different locations, including open spaces and inside storage cabinets. The monitoring will help identify potential pollutants from both outdoor sources and materials within the storage environment and will inform sustainable strategies for the long-term environmental control and preservation of the collections.

This work is especially important for a collection that continues to grow through the active archaeological excavations at the Agora, with significant numbers of new artifacts added each year.

Stay tuned for more updates on this work.

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

Watch a snippet of our latest Artist Dialogues video on the art of ofrenda-making. 🧡

[Getty @GettyMuseum]

Ofrendas are ephemeral art.

Hear artists Ofelia Esparza and her daughter, Rosanna Esparza Ahrens, 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. Watch now: https://t.co/eX23uRQi7T

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

🔔 There's additional time to apply for our forthcoming International Course on the Conservation of Modern Heritage! 🔔

Through lectures, discussions, exercises, demonstrations, site visits, and field projects, participants develop the knowledge and tools needed to conserve modern heritage, landscapes, and architecture.

Due to late interest expressed in applying for the course, we have decided to extend the application period through Nov. 10. Learn more about the course and how to apply: https://t.co/bXbiERCzrK.

Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

Take a peek inside our reference collection of material samples ⤵️

[Getty @GettyMuseum]

Working with art can be dangerous...but why?

Meet the Getty Conservation Institute's Reference Collection, established in the early 1990s as a repository of materials used in the creation and analysis of art. It houses over 20k materials including lead, arsenic, and mercury. ☠️

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

Join us for a special evening celebrating Peru's cultural heritage. 🇵🇪 All are welcome to attend a free public event highlighting our growing conservation work and partnerships in Peru.

📆 November 19, 2026
🕕 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. ⎸ Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
📍 Harold M. Williams Auditorium, Getty Center

Hear about efforts to conserve a sacred heritage site in the Andes and how the local community and Getty experts are working together to secure the future of this historic church and its extraordinary collection of cultural objects. Following the presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A and connect with fellow guests at a reception, including visiting representatives from Peru who are closely involved in the care and stewardship of the site.

Presented in collaboration with the Consulate General of Peru in Los Angeles.

Tickets are free but a reservation is required: https://t.co/8UVUEh2b04

📷 Interior of the Baroque Church of Rondocan with members of the local community. Photo by Alejandra Vélez.

[Getty Conservation Institute @GCIConservation]

On Oct. 18, alumni of our Old Cities, New Challenges urban conservation courses and members of the teaching team joined us for an afternoon tea reception in Kuching. The event was held during the ICOMOS General Assembly in Malaysia.

Southeast Asia faces significant challenges in conserving urban cultural heritage due to population growth, urbanization trends, intensifying tourism, economic and infrastructure development, and climate change. To help strengthen conservation practice across the region, we partnered with @mythinkcity to offer this course for Southeast Asian urban planners, architects, and associated urban conservation professionals. The course examined methodologies, practical tools, and techniques for conserving historic places.

First held in Penang, Malaysia, in 2018, the course later moved online in 2021 and 2024 and concluded with in-person workshop in Kuala Lumpur in 2025.

The alumni event provided an opportunity for participants to share how they have applied course learnings in their work and to strengthen professional connections across different cohorts.

Learn more about the course: https://t.co/gjdKyTkJ8b