By In a dimly lit Getty Center gallery, high above the Santa Monica Mountain foothills, rests 17 hand-crafted, medieval manuscripts – some over 700 years old.
A part of the new “Our Getty, Our Voices: Reflecting on Manuscripts” exhibit, the ancient texts were curated by a team of 16 college students from across the state.
“I always enjoyed museums, but I never thought of it as a career thing because I wasn’t really exposed to them growing up,” Long Beach State graduate Meagan Kim, who helped curate the exhibit, said. “That’s why I enjoyed my time at Long Beach, I got to explore my interests and make a career.”
Unified by a theme of nature, the exhibit features texts that vary from ancient prayer books with golden margins to 16-century calligraphy guides with expert inkwork.
Titled “Alexander The Great Consulting the Oracle of the Tree,” Kim’s pick is a mammoth of a manuscript from about 1475.
Estimated to be from 1475, this piece chosen by Meagan Kim for the Getty manuscript exhibit features a drawing of Alexander the Great and was originally part of an eight-part series meant to encompass all known world history up to the point. Photo credit: Delfino Camacho
“I was able to really see my manuscript up close, the inscriptions next to it and see everything in detail,” Kim said. “It’s nice being so personal and close with it, because it’s a different type of experience when it’s encased in glass.”
The experience was a dream come true for Kim, whose interest in art history was first piqued while visiting an exhibit of Flemish painter Paul Ruben at the Getty Villa.
The Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship Program
In 2024, Kim, a CSULB senior, took part in the Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship program, which provides paid summer internships to California university students from “underrepresented” backgrounds.
First started in 1993, the Getty Foundation backed program provides real world internship experiences at numerous art centers across LA, including in-house internships at the Getty Center and Getty Villa.
“Basically it’s a cohort based internship where you are paired up with a mentor and you just explore that department,” 21-year old University of Southern California student Bartholomew Chu, who also took part in the program, said.
A 17-century Armenian Bible lined with golden and colorful drawings was one of the manuscripts chosen to be displayed by student intern and project manager Bartholomew Chu as part of the “Our Getty, Our Voices: Reflections on Manuscripts” exhibit. Photo credit: Delfino Camacho
Chu was paired with Elizabeth Morrison, senior curator of manuscripts, who said the work of managing interns is worth it to keep interest in the arts alive.
“I wouldn’t invest the time and effort that it takes to do that if I didn’t believe that part of my responsibility as a curator is to excite the next generations about following in our footsteps,” Morrison said.
Intern Curated Exhibits
As only the second cohort group to participate in an exhibit like this, the interns got the opportunity to select manuscripts from a pool offered by the Getty.
Student curators then worked with museum staff to research and craft a reflective text on why each particular student chose their manuscript.
Chu, the intern project manager, was able to pick two pieces and was trained on how to handle the delicate works.
“I was actually able to pick them up and interact with them and it just really transports you to a different time, just feeling the animal parchment, hearing the pages move,” Chu said. “Seeing these objects up close, seeing the gold in sunlight, and these textured pigments is an amazing thing.”
A detailed look at the 17th century Armenian Bible chosen to be displayed by student intern Bartholomew Chu as part of the “Our Getty, Our Voices: Reflections on Manuscripts” exhibit. Photo credit: Delfino Camacho
Chu and Kim are pursuing museum careers and both plan on going to graduate school, with Chu continuing his focus on medieval arts.
“That people like you and me could actually join the art world and that we could actually contribute to it is amazing,” Chu said. “I think this internship gave me a lot of confidence and tools that I needed to actually break into this world.”
As for Kim, she hopes someday return to the Getty Villa.
“I feel like the undergrad internship was the first step and it really opened my eyes to museums and I just really got into it,” Kim said. “So 10 weeks was too short for me, I’m going to be honest, it was too short.”
The exhibit is available until April 27, 2025 at the Getty Center, now open.
The Getty Villa is currently temporarily closed, due to damages to the grounds from the Palisades Fire.
