National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage

Special Lecture by Nancy Um, Associate Director of the Getty Research Institute (July 30, 2026, 2 P.M., Analysis Science Center of the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in Daejeon)

At 2 P.M. on July 30, the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (General Director: Lim Jong-deok; hereafter, NRICH), an affiliate of the Korea Heritage Service, will host a special lecture in the auditorium of its Analysis Science Center in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. The lecture, entitled “Access and Interoperability: The Evolving Stakes and Aspirations for Art Historical Data at the Getty Research Institute,” will be delivered by Dr. Nancy Um, a specialist from said institute.

* Getty Research Institute: An institution of the J. Paul Getty Trust, it is a leading center for digital art historical projects and the development of art information databases.

This special lecture is part of an exchange and cooperation agreement signed between NRICH and the Getty Research Institute in November 2024. Since 2023, NRICH has been making information on Korean art terms, Korean calligraphers, and painters available to the international community through the Getty Vocabularies databases. Drawing on their ongoing collaboration, the two institutions have been promoting the diffusion of art and cultural heritage information worldwide and expanding digital art historical research.

* Getty Vocabularies: An international database related to art history terminology operated by the Getty Research Institute, it adheres to the standards of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to ensure consistency in art information. It is being widely used by leading art museums and research institutions around the world as authoritative reference data for the construction and retrieval of art-related information.

The lecturer, Dr. Nancy Um (Associate Director of the Getty Research Institute) oversees research and knowledge creation at the Getty Research Institute. She leads its major research and digital initiatives, including databases, programs for researchers, and digital art historical projects.

During the special lecture, Dr. Um will highlight examples of how the Getty Research Institute has advanced technological development in the field of art history and responded to the field’s changing needs over the past four decades. She will also discuss emerging challenges for art historical data arising from the rapidly evolving digital environment and will explore its future prospects. By doing so, her lecture is expected to provide valuable insights into the digitalization of Korean art and cultural heritage information, the construction and provision of related data, and the establishment of strategies for improving its global accessibility.

The lecture is open to the public free of charge, and no advance registration is required.

NRICH will continue to expand its collaboration with renowned research institutions worldwide as it keeps strengthening the foundation for research that promotes the global distribution of information on Korean art and cultural heritage.