Program areas at Whitney Museum of American Art
Collection and exhibitions of American artin fy23, the Whitney Museum of American Art presented 14 exhibitions. These included: the Whitney's collection: selections from 1900 to 1965 (june 28, 2019 - present); Whitney biennial 2022: quiet as it's kept (april 6, 2022 - september 5, 2022); at the dawn of a new age: early twentieth-century American modernism (may 7, 2022 - february 26, 2023); time management techniques (september 24, 2022 - january 8, 2023); 2 lizards (september 30, 2022 - february 19, 2023); edward hopper's new york (october 19, 2022 - march 5, 2023); in the balance (october 19, 2022 - march 5, 2023); (see schedule o)no existe un mundo poshuracn: puerto rican Art in the wake of hurricane maria (november 23, 2022 - april 23, 2023); every ocean hughes: alive side (january 14, 2023 - april 2, 2023); refigured (march 3, 2023 - july 3, 2023); jaune quick-to-see smith: memory map (april 19, 2023 - august 13, 2023); josh kline: project for a new American century (april 19, 2023 - august 13, 2023); rose b. simpson: counterculture (june 3, 2023 - august 13, 2023); and inheritance (june 28, 2023 - february 4, 2024). Fy23 performances at the Museum included: jason rhoades: sutter's mill (april 8 - september 2, 2022); alex da corte: roy g biv (april 20 - august 8, 2022), raven chacon: for zitkala-sa (july 16, 2022), julie tolentino: hold tight gently (october 7, 2022), every ocean hughes: help the dead (jan 27-29, 2023); every ocean hughes: one big bag (february 17-19, 2023); awilda sterling-duprey: lacks criticality (march 3-5, 2023); and every ocean hughes: river (march 24-26, 2023).an ongoing series of outdoor Art shown across gansevoort street from the Museum had 3 installations: Whitney biennial 2022: quiet as it's kept (april 6, 2022 - september 5, 2022); martine gutierrez: supremacy (september 1, 2022 - march 1, 2023); and hadi falapishi: almost there (april 19, 2023 - september 19, 2023).the following exhibitions toured nationally: my barbarian (institute of contemporary Art, los angeles, ca); at the dawn of a new age (norton Museum of Art, west palm beach, fl); and labyrinth of forms (sonoma valley Museum of Art, sonoma, ca). One exhibition toured internationally: edward hopper's new york (seoul Museum of Art, seoul, south korea).
Curatorial and related supportin fy23, the Whitney Museum of American Art continued its ongoing study into the more than 26,000 objects in the collection by over 3,800 artists. The Whitney continued its work on a multi-year, cross-departmental, and cross-institutional research project to understand the origin, scope, evolution, use, and impact of the Museum's collection. The project, which will culminate in the Whitney's first ever collection strategic plan, will offer recommendations, goals, and objectives for the future of the Whitney's collection that is informed by the institution's history and enriched by its desire to make its holdings useful, dynamic, (see schedule o) and relevant for today and the future. During the course of fy23, the Whitney added 296 new works to the collection, including works by 66 artists entering the collection for the first time. The Whitney continues to refine and experiment with its strategies for displaying more of the permanent collection within its gallery spaces. The resulting collection displays create thematic, Art historical contexts and counterpoints to the ongoing special exhibitions program, and explore how the institution can contribute to new narratives about American culture and history. Rich documentation of these installations and many of the artworks within them allowed these exhibitions to remain accessible through the Museum's website. In june 2023, the Whitney opened inheritance, an exhibition made up exclusively of works from the collection. 39 works in inheritance, by 29 different artists, are on view for the first time in the Whitney's galleries. Work was ongoing to digitize the Museum's collections, a project that is a crucial aspect of the increased scope of the curatorial, conservation, and research resources teams in the Museum's enlarged facility. The Whitney's permanent collection remained online and available to the public as a searchable resource and is updated regularly as new works enter the collection. Important library and special collections holdings are kept on site, as well as about 16,000 works on paper that are stored in the sondra gilman study center, facilitating access to them for curators and scholars. The sondra gilman study center supports cross-medium, cross-disciplinary research, allowing Museum staff, artists, scholars, and researchers access to the collection and opportunity for close material and technical examination of objects. As such, the study center is an exceptional resource for historians and curators of modern and contemporary Art, making the Whitney's world-class holdings available for primary research and in-depth consultation. During fy23, 61 external visits, with 463 unique visitors were held in the study center.
Education programsduring fy23, the Whitney's education department collaborated with colleagues across the Museum to strengthen the transition into in-person programming. All teams developed programs to engage the Whitney's world-class collection of American Art and maintain the diverse online audience that was created after the covid-19 pandemic. The Whitney served a total of 53,849 visitors in person and online through school, youth, family, public, and access and community programs. An additional 173,973 asynchronous users engaged digitally with interpretive content such as audio guides, recorded videos of programs on youtube, and podcasts (see schedule o) a total of 14,009 of these in person and online visitors were k-12 students. Education staff worked within and across program areas on zoom to present dynamic programming that explored critical questions about American Art, culture, and society. The school program team completed 148 online lessons and served 10,676 k-12 students in online and in-person programming; 1,903 k-12 students were from our 9 partnership schools.in addition, the Whitney education department continued all teen youth insights cohorts with 106 meetings and teen events, serving a total of 719 teens; out of this number, 132 teens participated in youth insights or a leader program. In fy23, the Museum offered its annual Art college night for nyc teens. Representatives from colleges in the new york area gave information about scholarship opportunities, college essay writing tips, and much more. The Museum also continued its commitment to accessibility for visitors with disabilities to experience the richness and complexity of American Art in an accessible and inclusive environment through remote and in-person offerings. This includes visitors who identify as disabled, d/deaf, deaf-blind, neurodivergent, autistic, low vision and/or experience a range of cognitive, intellectual, and developmental disability, physical disability, chronic illness and/or sensory sensitivities. The access team focused on expanding access features on the mobile guide to support visitors with disabilities as they engaged with Whitney exhibitions during fy23 a total of 379 people attended an access tour, and a total of 1,273 students with disabilities from 32 different schools, participated in either an in-person guided visit or online lesson.in fy23, 6,842 people attended artmaking, tours, and community programs. Community programs at the Whitney served as a focal point for exploration, dialogue, and self-expression for the Museum's diverse neighbors who desire to connect to Art. Community programs developed individualized extended programs designed to meet the specific needs of our diverse partner of 15 different organizations and to provide educational and cultural opportunities for underserved audiences of all ages.public programs and public engagement presented provocative and experimental events that engage audiences in critical dialogues on Art and cultural production. The division offered 19 programs and 3 courses and 2 workshops to 9,376 visitors. These programs included conversations, symposia, readings, workshops, and screenings in conjunction with quiet as it's kept: Whitney biennial 2022, edward hopper's new york, no existe un mundo poshuracn: puerto rican Art in the wake of hurricane maria, refigured, jaune quick-to-see smith: memory map, and josh kline: project for a new American century. Throughout the year, the public programs mailing list continued to grow, adding nearly 4,000 new subscribers for a total of approximately 30,000 individuals, and the Museum began to collect feedback from program attendees through short surveys after programs. In july 2021, programs were developed to be in a hybrid format, enabling speakers and audiences to participate in-person or virtually, as well as creating opportunities to deepen the accessibility of these events. Instances of these programs were thomas j. Price in conversation, approaching a city: hopper's vision of urban space, and the annual walter annenberg lecture featuring jaune quick-to-see smith. Additionally, public programs focused on making events more accessible, all events were offered with closed captioning and asl interpretation when requested, as well as live spanish translation.family programs had 47 in person and online Art clubs and workshop studios serving a total of 6871 people in person (between kids and adults). One such initiative was Whitney kids Art challenge, designed for kids and adults to do together with materials easily found in the home based on works in the Whitney's permanent collection. The family programs team lead one of the largest family events hosted at the Museum: Whitney pride celebration, featuring hands-on artmaking, collaborative, coloring projects inspired by artist chitra ganesh, queer history walking tours of the meatpacking district, giveaways, and a special dance performance led by dance collective bob's dance shop, this event had more than 2000 attendees. For more information about Whitney education, please visit whitney.org/education.
Publication and retail sales:museum related auxillary services that provide products related to the Museum's collection and exhibitions.