The UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum invites applicants for a five-day seminar in Los Angeles for early- to mid-career curators responsible for print collections. The project is designed to offer learning opportunities not commonly part of advanced academic study, which are critical to meeting the needs of 21st-century museums and the communities they serve. This seminar is made possible with support from Getty through The Paper Project initiative. 

Exploring Los Angeles’s exceptional resources and diverse expertise, this seminar will combine hands-on and technical study with cross-disciplinary discussions based in museum and library print collections, conservation labs, and printmaking studios. By engaging in conversation with curators, conservators, collection managers, printers, artists, grant funders, and community-based arts workers, participants will be encouraged to think expansively about the potential and significance of their curatorial work in the field of prints. This program has identified foundational areas of learning that Los Angeles is uniquely positioned to address: technical study of prints from their making to their preservation and care; assessing and establishing collection development opportunities and priorities in different types of institutions; collection management, access, and display; cross-institutional partnerships that amplify impact; philanthropy; and community engagement. Through in-person viewing and handling of artworks and artist's materials, this seminar will offer participants new modes of inquiry and develop tools for assessing, interpreting, and caring for prints that will broaden the intellectual framing of their curatorial work. The cohort will gain familiarity with Los Angeles collections and specialists, which we hope will inspire future projects and collaborations. 

The seminar centers on collections, organizations, and expertise in Los Angeles and comprises three 1-hour virtual meetings and a 5-day in-person seminar. An optional 1-2 days of accommodation support before or after the in-person sessions may be available. 

We will accept a group of 10 to 12 curators to participate in the seminar, allowing for intimate dialogue and a diversity of perspectives.

We encourage applications from early- to mid-career curators of prints working at small to mid-size museums, libraries, and archives, where specialized works on paper and/or conservation mentorship is not available. We also seek applications from curators who steward non-medium specific collections that include prints.

Participants new to the Paper Project are particularly encouraged to apply.

To apply, please submit a current CV and personal statement. The personal statement should describe your current and past curatorial responsibilities as well as areas of learning that you feel this seminar can address. 

Please send all application materials to curatorialseminar@hammer.ucla.edu by January 15, 2025. Participants will be notified by February 1, 2025.

Virtual Meetings
3 Mondays in April (Tentatively: 9am PST/12pm EST/6pm CET)

Prior to the in-person seminar, participants will convene virtually for three 1-hour meetings: (1) Introductions and brief presentations on current work. 
(2) Meeting with a community-based arts organization to discuss models for collaboration with museums and curators.
(3) Meeting with Joan Weinstein, Director, and Heather MacDonald, Senior Program Officer, of the Getty Foundation to learn about the impact of the Paper Project and the current state of philanthropy in art history and museums.

Los Angeles Convening
May 5-9, 2025 (with optional early arrival or late departure to explore LA museums and exhibitions)

Monday, May 5
Gemini G.E.L. intaglio printmaking practicum
Oliver Dewey-Gartner, Master Printer
Case Hudson, Master Printer
Isaac Osher, Master Printer

Tuesday, May 6
Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts
Kelin Michael, Luce/Getty Curatorial Fellow
Naoko Takahatake, Director and Chief Curator
Jennie Waldow, Curatorial Assistant and Collection Specialist

Wednesday, May 7
Getty Research Institute Special Collections and Conservation Lab
Elyse Driscoll, Associate Conservator
Glenn Phillips, Chief Curator
Rachel Rivenc, Head of Preservation and Conservation

Thursday, May 8
Print shop visits and free time to visit downtown museums and galleries 
Shaye Remba, Director, and Herbert Mendoza, Assistant Director, Mixografia
Jean Milant, Founder, and Robert DeMangus, Gallery Associate, Cirrus Gallery
Marvella Muro, Director of Artistic, Curatorial, and Education Programs, Self Help Graphics
Dewey Tafoya, Master Printer and Assistant Director of the Professional Printmaking Program, Self Help Graphics

Friday, May 9
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Britt Salvesen, Curator and Head of the Wallis Annenberg Photography Department and Prints and Drawings Department
Clare Spadafora Baes, Wallis Annenberg Curatorial Fellow, Department of Prints & Drawings
Erin Sullivan Maynes, Associate Curator, Department of Prints & Drawings

The cohort will be asked to complete a survey at the conclusion of the seminar followed by one to two virtual meetings to learn how participants have applied new knowledge to their current projects.