Art and science collide at PST Art event in Southern California

PST ART — formerly known as Getty PST — will be landing in Southern California in September 2024, featuring over 60 exhibits from more than 800 artists, and offering grants of up to $19 million.

Some of the highlights include:

* Formerly known as Pacific Standard Time, this new incarnation, titled “PST Art: Art & Science Collide,” will feature cultural, educational, scientific, community and arts organizations from across Southern California, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, CalTechLive, Crenshaw Dairy Mart, LACMA’s Art + Technology Lab and the New Children’s Museum.

* The sprawling event will boast 60 exhibitions and more than 800 artists exploring topics such as ancient cosmology, artificial intelligence, Indigenous science fiction and environmental justice.

* The programming was announced in conjunction with a new round of Getty grants that bring the total price tag of Getty’s investment in 2024’s PST Art to $19 million.

* Community is the driving force of the programming. Organizers will set up a big tent where everyone is welcome, and there will be something to appeal to a vast array of differing interests and tastes.

* Because it’s rooted in science, climate change is a major theme that emerged in the programming, with many participants showing particular interest in futurism rooted in tradition or indigeneity.

Starting in September 2024 and continuing for five months, PST ART: Art & Science Collide will comprise more than 60 deeply researched exhibitions developed by arts organizations and scientific institutions throughout Southern California, featuring over 800 artists in mind-expanding explorations of topics ranging from ancient cosmology to Indigenous sci-fi, and from artificial intelligence to environmental justice.

The new public programs organized by partner organizations, community-based groups, and Getty itself will make Art & Science Collide not only the largest art project in the United States but also an innovative model for public programming at an unprecedented scale.

Katherine E. Fleming, President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, said, “Like a productive collision that sets objects spinning off in new directions, the programs we announce today will move audiences toward fresh insights and illuminating encounters. We’re proud that Getty is heightening the already exceptional ambitions of Art & Science Collide by enabling our partners to present these lively, involving, and diverse programs starting less than a year from now.”

As part of its major public outreach, Getty will join with the internationally renowned Edinburgh Science organization in November 2024 to present a free, three-day PST ART x Science Family Festival. Offering participatory hands-on workshops, roving demonstrations, a full performance slate, and a celebratory atmosphere with music and food, the outdoor festival will bring the theme of Art & Science Collide to children ages 4 to 14 and their families.

Newly announced grants bring Getty’s support for Art & Science Collide to $19 million, and will fund dozens of engaging public programs throughout Southern California organized by CaltechLive; Clockshop; Crenshaw Dairy Mart; The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens; L.A. Dance Project; LACMA’s Art + Technology Lab; LA Phil; The Music Center; The New Children’s Museum; REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater); Skirball Cultural Center; and the University of Southern California.

Go to www.pst.art for more.

Photo Caption 

Interior of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Farah Sosa. Courtesy of the LA Phil. ©Farah Sosa