The Getty Foundation has appointed Justine Ludwig, currently executive director of Creative Time, as the first dedicated creative director of PST Art, marking a significant organizational shift for the major cultural initiative. Ludwig will relocate from New York to California to begin her newly created role on October 27, just in time to begin planning the 2030 edition of the exhibition series that has cost the Getty approximately $50 million over the past two decades.
Despite the substantial investment in PST Art since its inception, the Getty has never before had a dedicated department or team specifically focused on producing the large-scale collaborative exhibition program. Ludwig will now head a team that includes existing staff members Zachary Kaplan, head of programming, and Tina Lee, project manager, both of whom contributed to the most recent edition of PST Art.
The Getty Foundation has also allocated budget for Ludwig to make additional hires, including a marketing and communications specialist, demonstrating the organization's commitment to expanding and strengthening PST Art going forward. Joan Weinstein, head of the Getty Foundation, praised Ludwig's selection from among many exceptional candidates, highlighting her extensive experience with collaborative projects and large-scale, multi-stakeholder initiatives.
"Justine was really the clear choice among many extraordinary candidates we considered," Weinstein explained. "She has experience in doing collaborative projects, which is heart of what Creative Time does in New York, as well as her managerial expertise with large-scale, multiple-stakeholder undertakings. Also she's had experience in a number of different cities. She will bring some wonderful new ideas to PST Art."
Ludwig expressed enthusiasm for her new role, calling it "a dream in so many ways." She said the position offers "a way to think collectively about a creative ecosystem that I so deeply admire—southern California and the breadth and wealth of cultural institutions and creative voices throughout the region." She particularly praised PST Art's unique approach of inviting and funding partner institutions to create exhibitions around a single theme, with each organization responding in their own distinctive way to the same prompt, describing this model as "so rare and inspirational."
Ludwig brings extensive experience in ambitious public art projects to her new role. She has served as director of Creative Time since 2018, overseeing major commissions by renowned artists including Chloë Bass, Charles Gaines, Jill Magid, Rashid Johnson, and Jenny Holzer. During her tenure, she also launched CTHQ, a community space designed as a gathering place for art and politics, as well as a fellowship program supporting artists engaged in interdisciplinary, research-intensive work.
Prior to her role at Creative Time, Ludwig worked at Dallas Contemporary from 2015 to 2018, initially as senior curator and director of exhibitions before being promoted to deputy director and chief curator. She began her curatorial career at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, building a diverse portfolio of experience across multiple cities and institutions.
In her new position, Ludwig's team is expected to work closely with the smaller museums and non-profit organizations that participate in PST Art. These institutions already benefit from exhibition grants but have requested additional support and expertise in areas such as planning publications and developing traveling exhibitions. Ludwig is also tasked with refining and potentially reimagining the overall programming approach.
The need for programming refinement became apparent during the most recent PST Art edition, themed "Art + Science Collide," which opened with Cai Guo-Qiang's explosive firework display at the Coliseum. The opening event proved problematic, as it was not only inconsistent with the eco-themed exhibitions throughout the series but also resulted in injuries to some spectators.
PST Art represents a partnership between the Getty Foundation and the Getty Research Institute (GRI) and was previously managed by Weinstein in collaboration with GRI deputy director Andrew Perchuk. The two had originally conceived the initiative as a way to preserve and showcase Los Angeles's rich artistic history. The inaugural 2011 edition focused on the city's art scene from 1945 to 1980, while the second edition in 2017 explored connections between artists in Los Angeles and Latin America.
However, as the Getty committed to a quinquennial schedule for PST Art, continuing the previous management structure became impractical. "Andrew and I will continue to be involved but not in the same day-to-day capacity," Weinstein explained. The new organizational structure allows Weinstein to return her primary focus to her regular responsibilities, which include overseeing philanthropic gifts exceeding $12 million annually.
Looking ahead, the Getty plans to announce the overarching theme for PST Art's fourth edition by the end of 2025. The first round of grants to participating museums, specifically earmarked for research and planning phases, is expected to be announced by autumn 2026, setting the stage for what promises to be another ambitious collaborative cultural undertaking under Ludwig's leadership.
