Getty’s PST Art 2030 Will Trace Los Angeles’s Pacific Rim Connections, With Grants Open to Nonprofits Across Eight Counties
Los Angeles has long been shaped by the Pacific — through trade, migration, design, and popular culture — and the Getty Trust is betting that story can anchor the next major chapter of its region-wide arts initiative. The Getty announced that the fourth edition of PST Art will focus on the city’s connections with the Pacific Rim, opening across Southern California in September 2030.
The work begins immediately. Nonprofit cultural organizations in Southern California’s eight counties are eligible to seek support, with letters of inquiry due by June 1, 2026. The Getty said the edition will unfold through a two-stage funding model, beginning with research and planning and moving into an implementation phase.
A multi-century lens on transpacific exchange
The 2030 theme is designed to span several centuries of cultural exchange, moving from early material histories to contemporary visual culture. The Getty pointed to examples that range from Chinese porcelain arriving in the Spanish missions to the influence of Japanese visual culture on Los Angeles architecture and design, as well as the ongoing impact of contemporary Korean pop culture.
The framing also carries an explicitly diplomatic dimension. Justine Ludwig, hired last year as the first-ever creative director of PST Art, positioned the theme as a way to widen perspective during a volatile moment. “During this period marked by geopolitical tension, immigration conflicts and global instability, the theme also encourages international perspectives and recognises our longstanding interdependence,” Ludwig said in a statement.
Who can apply — and how PST Art is structured
Eligible applicants must be registered nonprofit cultural organizations based in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Riverside, San Bernardino, or Imperial counties. The Getty’s two-stage approach is intended to support both the foundational work of research and the eventual realization of exhibitions and programs.
Since its founding in 2002, PST ART has become one of the most ambitious coordinated arts initiatives in the United States, instigating more than 200 exhibitions, 120 publications, and thousands of public programs and performances across Southern California. While the project is rooted in the region, some PST Art exhibitions have later traveled to other cities and regions.
The Getty also announced plans for a PST Art Open House event in 2027. Conceived as a one-day public program combining performances, conversations, and hands-on workshops, it will mark the 15th anniversary of the inaugural edition of PST Art, which examined the Los Angeles art scene between 1945 and 1980.
Subsequent editions have used the initiative’s broad network to explore Los Angeles in relation to larger systems and geographies, including connections with Latin America in 2017–18 and the intersections of art and science in 2024–25. With its Pacific Rim focus, PST Art 2030 signals a return to the city’s outward-facing histories — and to the cultural currents that continue to shape Southern California’s present.
