After LA’s Devastating Fires, Local Art Spaces Unite for Climate Action

More than a year since the wildfires that devastated Southern California, five Los Angeles art museums and galleries yesterday signalled their commitment to climate action through the formation of a new consortium.

The group includes some of LA’s biggest art institutions: the Getty Center and Getty Villa, the Hammer Museum, Hauser & Wirth, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA).

In a joint statement, the consortium said: “Though not a direct cause, climate change was an exacerbating factor in the size and devastation of the recent Los Angeles-area fires, which took a toll on our cultural institutions, galleries and artists.

“Increasingly, the cultural sector is being shaped by and is responding to climate change as part of fulfilling our mission of caring for and exhibiting our shared cultural heritage. It is vital that our sector take action to both reduce our environmental impact and improve our resilience, so that we can continue to fulfill this mission.”

The consortium has committed to implementing best practices from the Bizot Green Protocol, a set of recommendations tailored to arts organisations outlining environmentally sustainable practices and reducing carbon emissions in the long-term care of collections.

The Protocol was first launched in 2015 at the convening of the international art museum directors’ network, the Bizot Group, and was last revised in 2023. 

Speaking on behalf of the consortium, Getty’s sustainability director Camille Kirk said: “This is the first time that Los Angeles art institutions have announced together their commitment to these recommendations, and it is our hope that it will motivate others to commit as well.”

The newly formed consortium is not the first time its participating institutions have implemented climate-conscious initiatives. Getty took up Bizot Green Protocol practices in 2024, while research from the Getty Conservation Institute contributed to the development of the protocol.

LACMA, meanwhile, adopted the protocol in the early planning phase of its newest campus building, the David Geffen Galleries, slated to open next month.

The new galleries are designed to achieve a LEED Gold certification—a globally recognised green building rating—integrating high-efficiency systems, reduced embodied carbon materials like low-carbon concrete, and long-term resource conservation, such as energy-efficient radiant heating and cooling methods and natural ventilation systems.

Meanwhile Hauser & Wirth’s fresh commitment follows the introduction of several climate-focused changes, including overnight heating and cooling system shutdowns and a move away from universal temperature ranges. A statement from the gallery said these operation changes have “already produced measurable energy and cost savings, which we continue to monitor”.