The Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) is the recipient of a $69,000 grant from the Getty Foundation that will provide funds for up to fifteen librarians and art information professionals from Latin America to attend the ARLIS/NA 41st Annual Conference in Pasadena, California, in April 2013.  “This generous grant will ultimately fulfill the society's strategic goal to create stronger leadership through promotion, cooperation and advocacy by building stronger partnerships internationally," states Deborah Kempe, President of ARLIS/NA.

The grant will support professional development of selected colleagues in Latin America who could not attend the conference without financial assistance, by covering all costs associated with conference attendance, including registration fees for programs and tours, travel and accommodation, and translation services. It is expected that the participation of the Latin American colleagues will lead to lasting professional collaborations, and will significantly expand ARLIS/NA's representation of arts information professionals in the Americas. 

A panel of ARLIS/NA members with experience and contacts in the Latin American community will select participants who possess proven records of professional accomplishment and collaboration. The panel consists of: Beverly Joy-Karno, owner of Howard Karno Books, a distributor of books from Latin America; Clayton Kirking, Chief of Art Information Resources at New York Public Library, curator, and co-author of exhibition catalogs for Latin American art; Milan R. Hughston, Chief of Library and Museum Archives at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where he participates in a special program to build Latin American holdings; Holly Hatheway, Art and Architecture Librarian, Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library, Yale University, and chair of the ARLIS/NA International Relations Committee; Fernando Corona, Library Director at Museo Nacional de Arte in Mexico City; Guadalupe Rodriguez, ARLIS/NA Association & Conference Manager; and Jon Evans, Library Director at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and the past president of ARLIS/NA. 

The 2013 ARLIS/NA conference program offers many sessions, tours, speakers, and events that will be of interest to librarians and scholars who work with Latin American influenced subjects. These include the opening plenary panel discussion, "Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980" and a presentation by Professor Chon Noriega, head of Chicano Studies at UCLA, made possible by the society’s Alternative Voices Fund. Additional highlights will be a Society Circle event at a significant private collection of Latin American art and a tour to the Avila Adobe in Los Angeles, California, followed by a viewing of the newly restored América Tropical, located at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, the only U.S. public mural by famed Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros still in its original location. 

  All ARLIS/NA members will benefit from the cultural exchange and expanded opportunities for collaboration offered by the participation of Latin American colleagues. For more information, contact Guadalupe Rodriguez, ARLIS/NA Association Manager (g.rodriguez@arlisna.org or 414-768-8000 extension 136).