Sally Mann’s Art Work: On the Creative Life

Talk
Side-by-side composite photo of a woman holding a camera against a wooden background on the left, and on the right, a black-and-white headshot of a different woman against a white background.

Sally Mann (left) and Leah Ollman (right)

Tuesday Feb 10, 2026

7pm

Getty Center

Harold M. Williams Auditorium

$0 - $35

Tickets are free, but required for event entrance. Your event ticket will also serve as your Center entrance reservation. Please note, there is a fee for parking.

Pre-buy a signed copy of Art Work: On the Creative Life through the "Get tickets" button below and pick up at the event.

Get tickets

About

Illustrated with photographs, journal entries, and letters that bring immediacy and poignancy to the narrative, Sally Mann’s latest book Art Work is full of insights about the hazards of early promise; the unpredictable role of luck; the value of work, work, work, and more hard work; the challenges of rejection and distraction; the importance of risk-taking; and the rewards of knowing why and when you say yes. In sparkling prose and thoughtfully juxtaposed visuals and ephemera, this reading and conversation with critic Leah Ollman is a generous, provocative exploration of creativity by one of our most original thinkers.

Concessions available from 5:30–7pm, with book sales available before and after the program.

    Co-presented with

    1. Sally Mann

      Artist and Author

      Sally Mann is a Guggenheim Fellow and three-time recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. She has been the subject of two documentaries: Blood Ties (1994), which was nominated for an Academy Award, and What Remains (2006), which was nominated for an Emmy for Best Documentary. Mann’s Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs (2015) received universal critical acclaim, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.

    2. Leah Ollman

      Critic

      Leah Ollman has been writing about art for more than 35 years. Her reviews and features have appeared regularly in the Los Angeles Times and Art in America, as well as in Photograph, The Brooklyn Rail, Paris Review Daily, Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles (CARLA), ARTnews, American Craft, and many other publications. Her book, Ensnaring the Moment: On the Intersection of Poetry and Photography, was released by Saint Lucy Books in 2025.

    Know Before You Go

    Duration

    Approximately 1 hour.

    Planning your arrival

    Please bring your tickets with you and have them open on your mobile device or printed. Your event ticket is also your entry to the Getty Center and will be checked upon arrival as you go through security before taking the tram or walking up the hill.

    Your ticket will also be checked at the event entrance.

    Note that during busy times of year and weekends, we recommend planning your visit to allow for at least 30 minutes to park, go through security, and make your way up to the event.

    Event Check-In

    Check-in begins 90 minutes before program start time at the Harold M. Williams Auditorium. Concessions are also available at this time.

    Doors open 30 minutes before program start time.

    Seating

    Unless otherwise noted, all seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. We recommend arriving early to guarantee a seat. Unclaimed tickets may be released 15 minutes prior to the event.

    Accessibility

    Wheelchairs are available for free rental on a first-come, first-served basis at the Lower Tram Station above the parking structure and at the Coat Check Room in the Museum Entrance Hall.

    Seating for wheelchair users and their party is available at the back of the auditorium, as well as at the front of the space. If you'd like to sit in the front, please let a Visitor Services associate know when you check in and they can escort you to these seats.

    Assisted listening devices are available for this event. Please request one from our Visitor Services associates when you check in.

    For more information on how we can support your visit to the Getty Center, learn about accessibility at Getty.

    Can’t make it?

    Shortly following this event, a recording will be available on Getty's YouTube channel under "Talks and Conversations."

    Need help?

    Contact us! 9 am–5 pm, 7 days a week
    (310) 440-7300

    Email Us