Research Institute

An international center for the study of visual culture

What We Do

The Getty Research Institute cultivates advanced knowledge of art and its varied histories through scholarship, collections, programs, and public resources.

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Who We Are

  1. About the Getty Research Institute

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    Discover our mission and history

    Learn about our purpose

  2. Getty Library and Special Collections

    A person sits at a desk in a library and looks at papers on a book while another person standing between bookshelves flips through a book.

    Explore our research collections, including books, rare materials, and archives

  3. Research Programs and Tools

    Two people sit at a table in a library with books, notebooks, and a laptop. One person points to something on the computer screen with a pencil.

    Find grants, programs, tools, and databases that support research and scholarship

Exhibition

See all Research Institute exhibitions

Exhibition How to Be a Guerrilla Girl

Coinciding with the Guerrilla Girls’ 40th anniversary, the exhibition tells the story of their collaborative process and longstanding commitment to call for equity for women and artists of color in the art world

A nude female with the head of a gorilla mask reclines against a background of neon pink showing photo strips of people in skirts, boots, and gorilla masks posting in a studio.
Overleaf, foreground: Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into The Met Museum? (detail), 1989, Offset print; background: Contact Sheets (details), ca. 1987, Gelatin silver prints. Guerrilla Girls (American, active since 1985). Getty Research Institute, [2008.M.14][1]. Courtesy Guerrilla Girls. © Guerrilla Girls. Design © 2025 J. Paul Getty Trust [1]: http://primo.getty.edu/GRI:GETTY_ALMA21141175040001551

Events

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  1. Poetry in the Garden: Scores

    Performance

    A person read poetry into a microphone beside another person playing guitar for a small crowd on a sunny day in a large garden
    Sun, Apr 12, 2026, 6:30pm

  2. Screening: Of Color and Ink

    Film

    Film title card with blue and green watercolors and the white profile of a man with a beard. The text "Of Color and Ink" alongside Chinese characters appears as an overlay.
    Fri, May 8, 2026, 1am

  3. Tastemakers: Earth Mother with Paige Emery

    Food

    A woman with long dark hair wearing a blue kaftan holds a basket of herbs in a garden
    Sat, May 9, 2026, 7pm

Explore Our Work

Project Paul R. Williams: I Am an Architect

Bringing the work of this groundbreaking Southern California architect to the broader public

Williams sits behind a table and points something out on a 3D model of a house to another person sitting with his back to the camera.

Finding Aid Simone Forti Papers

Notebooks, diaries, sketchbooks, workshop notes, and other archival materials from the postmodern dancer and choreographer

Black and white photograph of a person in a white shirt and pants doing an expressive dance in front of a group of seated people

Special Collections

Highlights from the archives of the Getty Library

Sepia photo of a man in a tie and trousers standing before a drafting table and smiling

Project The Scores Project

Interdisciplinary research into the international proliferation of avant-garde scores from the 1950s to 1970s

A white sheet of paper covered in hundreds of small symbols and drawings in black ink

Resources

Access tools, databases, grants, and initiatives that advance research, teaching, and scholarship in the histories of visual art and cultural heritage

  1. Tools and Databases

    Find free tools and resources that support research

  2. Getty Library and Special Collections

    Explore one of the world’s largest art historical research libraries

  3. Funding Opportunities

    Find grants and fellowships that support new scholarship

  4. Research Initiatives

    Discover our collaborations and projects that support art research

  5. Academic Outreach

    Learn about our resources, partnerships, and programs for faculty and students

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Publications

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News & Stories

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  1. Punk Rock Playlist

    Article

    Pink paper with text: "How to become a Guerrilla girl! 1. Think of the name of a black woman artist. 2. Pass it on to a curator or collector."

    A curated collection of songs inspired by the Guerrilla Girls

    Apr 1, 2026

  2. Instructions for the Unexpected

    Article

    Open book spread featuring unconventional letter forms in black, white, and orange

    How a new Getty digital publication brings the experimental scores of John Cage, Fluxus, and the neo-avant-garde back to life

    Mar 31, 2026

  3. The Body on the Page

    Article

    A woman wearing all white runs alongside another person in white crawling on the floor.

    For iconic movement artist Simone Forti, the notebook was a private stage for a radical exploration of self that fueled a creative breakthrough

    Mar 25, 2026

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Staff & Contact

Senior Leadership

  1. Andrew Perchuk

    Interim Director, Getty Research Institute

  2. Susan Baldocchi

    Associate Director, Administration

  3. Kara Olidge

    Associate Director, Collections & Discovery

  4. Nancy Um

    Associate Director, Research & Knowledge Creation

  5. Khristaan Villela

    Associate Director, Dissemination & External Affairs

General Inquiries