Unique gallery courses explore the fascinating world of art and ideas found in the Museum's collection and current exhibitions. Participants have the opportunity for close encounters with art through lecture and guided discussion.

Courses are designed for adults and taught by educators, curators, and scholars. Registration and tickets are required for all courses.

Enrich your Saturday nights! Join an open-ended discussion in the Museum galleries to heighten your appreciation and understanding of the visual arts. Study and explore one masterpiece in the collection with an educator. The chosen work of art changes every session, making each visit a new experience. Course fee $20 per session (includes a sandwich voucher). Meet at the Museum Information Desk for course introduction.

Learn more about this program on our blog, The Iris.

Next in the series
A Masterpiece to Be Explored
Saturday, January 28, 2012
6:00–8:00 p.m

Saturday, February 25, 2012
6:00–8:00 p.m

Saturday, March 31, 2012
6:00–8:00 p.m

Saturday, April 28, 2012
6:00–8:00 p.m

Saturday, May 12, 2012
6:00–8:00 p.m

Explore in depth the work of a featured artist or a stylistic movement related to a current exhibition. An educator presents an illustrated lecture, culminating with the guided viewing and discussion of art in the exhibition galleries.

Reclining and Dining: Eating and Sexuality
Sunday, April 22, 2012
1:00–4:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Meeting Rooms and galleries
Course fee $35; $28 students
Open to 30 participants

Explore the differences between Greek and Roman reclining and dining practices and attitudes about food, sex, and privacy. Using evidence in the Museum's collection and the Getty Villa itself, journey back in time with educator Shelby Brown to envision and reenact the public and private behaviors that centered on food and sensuality. The class complements the exhibition Aphrodite and the Gods of Love.

Novice and seasoned museumgoers are invited to fully experience works of art in the Museum's collection. Educators direct discussion and the study of select masterpieces. Each course includes up to four thematically linked sessions, which take place once a month, usually on a Saturday morning. Attend a single class or the whole series.

Next in the series
Music in Art
Saturdays, February 11 and March 10, 2012
10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Research Institute Lecture Hall and Museum galleries
Course fee $15 per session
Open to 35 participants

The enticing sound of music has reverberated throughout the centuries, resonating with artists who looked to encapsulate the aural experience in visual form. Mediums of expression, whether perceived through the eye or ear, often strike chords with their audience. Join educator Lilit Sadoyan in a two-part course tracing the representation of music in art, and listen to period music in the galleries to provoke a marriage of the senses.

This course provides museumgoers with a comprehensive gallery experience based on a specific theme or topic. Guided discussion and the study of select masterpieces offer participants a unique perspective on the Museum's collection. Each series includes thematically linked meetings, which take place one Saturday per month.

Part 1 (February 11): Instruments and Performance

Part II (March 12): Song and Dance

Enjoy an afternoon at the Getty Villa exploring the antiquities collection, gardens, and ancient architecture. Course fee varies.

Next in the Series
Impulse and Insult: Roman Poems of Love and Hate
Sunday, February 12, 2012
1:00–4:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Meeting Rooms
Course fee $35; $28 students

Are you ready for Valentine's Day? Do you appreciate—or resent—its glorification of romantic love? Prepare for the onslaught by indulging in Roman poems of love, longing, despair, and condemnation. Roman love poetry veers from lyrical and loving to wildly insulting, even vicious, highlighting the timelessness of love and jealousy. Then explore the galleries to see how love is immortalized in Greek and Roman art.

Daily Life in Ancient Rome
Saturday, March 3, 2012
1:00–4:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Meeting Rooms
Course fee $35; $28 students

Explore a day in ancient Rome of the first century A.D. Follow the family members and slaves of a wealthy household in a 24 hour period, discovering the surprising similarities and differences between past and present with educator Shelby Brown. Learn the details of daily life, from hygiene and domestic gods to power and punishment, and compare the public face of the household with private behavior. End with a journey through the Getty Villa, a re-created ancient Roman mansion.

See all upcoming courses and demonstrations on our event calendar.