Family festivals offer a day of celebration and discovery inspired by exhibitions at the Getty Center. Each unique festival features performances by local dance and music groups, storytelling, art-making workshops, and gallery activities.

Delve into the world of celebrity, image, photography, and Los Angeles at this free daylong family festival inspired by the exhibitions Herb Ritts: L.A. Style and Portraits of Renown: Photography and the Cult of Celebrity. Design a magazine cover with a photo of you as the featured celebrity, learn how to vogue like Madonna, and dance to the sounds of Los Angeles at the close of the 20th century.

Activites include:

Framing L.A. with Alia Malley
Use the backdrop of the Getty Museum, with its dramatic panoramic views of Los Angeles, to frame portraits of your friends and family. Award-winning photographer Alia Malley gives tips on how to get special effects from your own cellphone and digital cameras.

Become the Photographer with Nate Larson
Create your own play camera from paper and tape to frame the photographs you imagine.

Snap Yourself! Photo Shoot
Strike a pose and get your portrait taken by professional photographers with lighting and backdrops reminiscent of Herb Ritts.

Cover Project with Marcus Kuiland-Nazario
Create a magazine cover that puts your portrait from the Snap Yourself! photo shoot front and center in the public realm. Just like Herb Ritts, your work is cover art!

Voguing with Ryan Heffington
First, watch the Sweat Spot Dancers vogue like Madonna. Then, have the chance to move like a superstar as renowned L.A. choreographer Ryan Heffington teaches you how to vogue!

DJ Paul V. achieved fame for his pioneer work in 1980s Los Angeles clubs, and he comes to the Getty to spin his favorite tracks from that era. Put in your request and dance to the best of the 80s and 90s with one of the original DJs who made the sound famous.

Storyteller Karen Golden brings the famously depicted people of Portraits of Renown to life in this magical hour.

Pacific Standard Time Family Festival
October 22, 2011
Inspired by art in L.A., this daylong festival invited a new generation of local artists to reinterpret the creative legacy of artists featured in the Pacific Standard Time initiative. Guests discovered special performances and unexpected installations by Machine Project, Kim Ye, and other local artists, made their own mail art, helped to recreate a version of Di Suvero's Peace Tower with Becca Lofchie, and so much more at this only-in-Los Angeles event! This event was part of Pacific Standard Time at the Getty Center.

Family Festival Celebrating Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia
June 4, 2011
Visitors experienced the beauty and wonder of Cambodia in this daylong celebration complementing the exhibition Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia. This festival featured traditional Cambodian music and dance performances, hands-on workshops, storytelling with Sheetal Gandhi, and a fashion show featuring traditional Cambodian clothing.

Family Festival Celebrating Photography from the New China and Felice Beato: A Photographer on the Eastern Road
March 19, 2011
Visitors discovered the richness and beauty of the ancient empires of India, Japan, and China as well as recent explosions in artistic creativity. This festival featured traditional Chinese opera, Chinese folktales told by a master storyteller, and the amazing music and dance of these vibrant cultures. Inspired by Felice Beato: A Photographer on the Eastern Road and Photography from the New China.

Family Festival Celebrating Leonardo da Vinci and the Art of Sculpture: Inspiration and Innovation
June 5, 2010
Visitors entered the world of Leonardo da Vinci and Italian culture in this daylong celebration with music, theater, storytelling, and interactive workshops. Featured were the tale of Pinocchio as performed by Will & Company, the timeless magic of commedia dell'arte in The World on the Moon directed by Orlando Pabotoy, folk music by Musicntica, story teller Carl Weintraub as Leonardo da Vinci, and art-making workshops including making a sketchbook inspired by Leonardo's drawings, creating a maquette of an equestrian monument, making a frame and designing a postcard. Inspired by the exhibition Leonardo da Vinci and the Art of Sculpture: Inspiration and Invention.

Family Festival Celebrating French Art and Culture
September 12, 2009
Vive la France! Visitors enjoyed a day in the Gallic countryside with this Family Festival, which featured the chanteuse Jessica Fichot as well as the cosmopolitan sounds of Jean-Paul Monsché. The event also featured folktales and the giant fantastic creatures by Dragon Knights. Inspired by two exhibitions: Capturing Nature's Beauty: Three Centuries of French Landscapes and Cast in Bronze: French Sculpture from Renaissance to Revolution.