Inspiration from the Cultural Frontlines

On March 2, Getty and Christie’s auction house hosted Art as Action: Women on the Cultural Frontlines, the second in a series that advances opportunities for early and mid-career professionals in the field and showcases the voices of women leaders transforming the arts.

After a networking breakfast, Getty President and CEO Katherine E. Fleming welcomed nearly 250 artists, curators, organization builders, development and arts professionals, philanthropists, gallerists, and students to Harold M. Williams Auditorium.

Fleming kicked off the morning by introducing two of the iconic Guerrilla Girls for a wide-ranging conversation that touched on their decades of pioneering arts activism, the current state of representation in the arts, and the origins of their signature anonymity. The Guerrilla Girls explained that their famed masks may have resulted from an early misspelling, but that the liberating and disruptive humor offered a way to cut through preconceptions and connect with audiences. “I suggest that you all put on a gorilla mask and see what comes out of your mouth!” one of them playfully advised attendees.

Christie’s CEO Bonnie Brennan took the stage to acknowledge the roomful of exceptional partners who, like the Guerrilla Girls, are committed to challenging systems, pushing for change, and stepping into their own power. She introduced Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts and University Professor of Creativity and Social Impact at Arizona State University.

Dr. Jackson expressed her belief that the arts are essential to building communities and a world where all people can thrive before introducing panelists Helen Alonzo Hurtado, Harmonia Rosales, and Gillian Wynn for a conversation exploring their personal journeys as artists and leaders of cultural organizations.

Alonzo Hurtado recalled how she picked up a camera at 13 and became the first person in her Salvadoran immigrant family “to dream about a career rooted in joy not survival.” The influence of a mentor at UCLA and a Getty Marrow Internship inspired her to follow a path that defines creative practice not only as taking pictures but also “helping build the spaces so that our artists can continue sharing their stories.”

Alonzo Hurtado is executive director of Las Fotos Project, an arts organization based in Boyle Heights that supports young women and gender-expansive artists of color through photography, mentorship, and community. Photographers from the program documented the morning’s event, part of a program to develop paid creative opportunities for young people interested in pursuing professional careers in photography.

Artist Harmonia Rosales shared how her long interest in painting was illuminated in a dramatic moment that altered her trajectory: She was visiting the Art Institute of Chicago, a favorite institution from her own childhood, with her young daughter, who didn’t share her enthusiasm touring the Renaissance galleries of religious icons and saints. Asked why, she responded, “They don’t look like me.” The reaction prompted Rosales, child of Afro-Cuban immigrants, to remember the stories she grew up with, and to devote herself to painting a world where her daughter’s beauty and history belonged.

Her mission since then has been “to bring black bodies into divinity, monumentality, with the same theological seriousness and weight” reflected in canonical European artworks. Rosales’s works can be seen in the Getty exhibition Beginnings: The Story of Creation in the Middle Ages, and she is the author of Chronicles of Ori: An African Epic, an illustrated retelling of the myths and deities she learned about as a child.

Asked about the sources of confidence in pursuing new ventures while remaining true to her vision, Gillian Wynn, arts entrepreneur and president of dance company BODYTRAFFIC, singled out the gift of curiosity and learning to trust her intuition and instincts. She also revealed that progress and identifying new opportunities often involves getting out of her comfort zone: “I have to do something that scares me, and then I know I’m going to grow.”

In a Q&A session audience members further explored the views and experiences of the panelists, with a common thread emerging about the importance of finding your tribe and building your community—like-minded individuals who can provide vital support, feedback, and a network of shared interests. The program concluded with a stirring performance by dance company BODYTRAFFIC introduced by Deputy Chairman of Christie’s Sonya Roth.

Afterward, attendees reconvened for lunch in the Museum courtyard and an opportunity to tour exhibitions How to Be a Guerrilla Girl, Beginnings: The Story of Creation in the Middle Ages, and Photography and the Black Arts Movement: 1955–1985 with curators in the galleries to answer questions.