The Getty Museum

Putting L.A. on the map as an art world capital.

For decades, when people talked about the art world, they talked about New York. Paris. Maybe London. Los Angeles was an afterthought. But L.A. had a story worth telling. A rich, rebellious, influential art history that helped shape the global conversation. It just hadn’t been told the right way.

Pacific Standard Time set out to change that. A massive collaboration between the Getty and over 60 cultural institutions, the exhibition explored the L.A. art scene from 1945 to 1980. Our job was to make people care. Not just art world insiders, but everyone.

I led the creative, developing a brand identity and visual storytelling that captured the energy and grit of the L.A. art movement. We partnered with voices who embodied the city’s spirit: Ice Cube, Anthony Kiedis, Jason Schwartzman. They narrated the story, adding a contemporary edge to a historical narrative. It wasn’t a dusty museum campaign. It felt alive, bold, and unmistakably L.A.

The standout was Ice Cube and Charles and Ray Eames. Turns out, before N.W.A., Ice Cube studied architectural drafting. He’s a genuine Eames obsessive. In a black-and-white film, he toured the Eames House in Pacific Palisades, drawing parallels between their resourcefulness and his own South Central roots. “Coming from South Central Los Angeles, you’ve got to use what you’ve got and make the best of it,” he said. “They was doing mash-ups before mash-ups even existed.” His face showed up on bus stops across the city. It was unexpected, authentic, and completely L.A.

Over 1 million visitors came through the doors. Social engagement jumped 40%. Pacific Standard Time didn’t just celebrate L.A.’s art history. It made people rethink what they knew about the city altogether.