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Getty Museum to embark on partnership with Sicily

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The J. Paul Getty Museum said Wednesday that it is expanding its partnerships with various regions of Italy by embarking on a long-term cultural collaboration with Sicily.

The joint project will involve object conservation, earthquake protection of collections, exhibitions and more. The Getty said it will be working with the Sicilian Ministry of Culture and Sicilian Identity.

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Currently, the Getty has partnerships with the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Florence and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples.

The collaborations are the result of a 2007 agreement between the Getty and the Italian Ministry of Culture. As part of that accord, the Getty agreed to transfer 40 objects to Italy in order to help bring to a close the protracted legal battle over disputed works of art.

Italy and the Getty also agreed at the time to a ‘broad cultural collaboration’ that would include loans of significant art works, joint exhibitions and other endeavors.

Among the projects slated for the Sicily project is a new exhibition to be undertaken by the Getty that will explore Sicily during the Classical and Hellenistic periods -- or roughly between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC.

The Getty said the exhibition, which is provisionally titled ‘Between Greece and Rome: Sicily in the Classical and Hellenistic Period,’ will open at the Getty Villa in Malibu in 2013 and will borrow from a number of Sicilian museums and other international institutions.

Another planned exhibition will involve the exploration of Selinunte (Selinos), a Greek colonial settlement in southwestern Sicily that has a number of ancient Greek temples. The Getty will partner with various organizations on the show, whose opening day has yet to be announced.

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The Getty said it will borrow several objects from the Museo Archeologico di Aidone that relate to the worship of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone. The objects will be loaned for display in the ‘Gods and Goddesses’ gallery at the Getty Villa for one year.

In addition, the Getty said that it will bring select artwork in need of conservation to the Getty Villa. Among the pieces scheduled for travel are the statue known as the Marble Youth from Agrigento and a vase by the artist known as the Niobid Painter.

Wednesday’s news was co-announced by David Bomford, the acting director of the Getty Museum. Bomford took over the role of director after Michael Brand, the Getty’s former director, stepped down in January.

-- David Ng

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