All events are free and are held in the Harold M. Williams Auditorium, unless otherwise noted. Seating reservations are required. For reservations and information, please call (310) 440-7300 or use the reservation button below. Tickets are available on-site or by phone.

Lectures

The Art of Splendor: Islamic Luxury Goods in Renaissance Italy
Art Historian Rosamond E. Mack discusses how Italian craftspeople gradually learned to compete with the textiles, ceramics, glass, bookbindings, and metalwork imported from the Islamic world, but not with the carpets that became conspicuous status symbols.

Sunday, May 16, 4:00 p.m.

Family Festival

From Persia to Pisa, trace the movement of ideas from east to west with a day of music, dance, and storytelling. Find out how flamenco reveals the Islamic roots of Spanish music, create your own vessel inspired by the glass and ceramics on display in the exhibition, or learn a folk dance from Andalusia or Iran. Produced by Community Arts Resources.

Sunday, June 6, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Museum Courtyard

Curator's Gallery Talk

Catherine Hess, Associate Curator of Sculpture and Decorative Arts, discusses the debt owed to the Islamic world for the development of Italian Renaissance ceramics and glass.
No reservations required. Please check the Today at the Getty information board for specific dates.

Offered on select Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m. beginning May 11
Meet under the staircase in the Museum Entrance Hall.

Cylindrical Jar (Albarello), Italy, mid 1400s

Performance

Gordon Getty Concert
Strings of Fire: Persian Classical Music
Award-winning and internationally recognized santur (hammer dulcimer) master Manoochehr Sadeghi and flamenco guitarist Adam del Monte recapture the exchange of ideas between Persia and Renaissance Europe.
Tickets: $20; students/seniors: $15

Saturday, June 19, 8:00 p.m.

Point-of-View Talks

Talks are held at 6:00 and 7:30 p.m. in the Museum galleries. Sign up at the Museum Information Desk beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Karen Koblitz, an artist on the faculty of the USC School of Fine Arts, discusses the exhibition. Her work pays homage to the functionality of ceramics while elaborating on historical and decorative elements.

Friday, June 11