Whitney MuseumNew York, NY (May 1, 2024) — Steps away from the High Line and Chelsea Market in New York City’s vibrant Meatpacking District, the Whitney Museum of American Art is the perfect destination for visitors of all ages to immerse themselves in art, culture, and all that NYC has to offer. The Whitney presents soaring views of the famous city skyline via four stories of outdoor balcony terraces and awe-inspiring architecture amid its collection of masterworks by leading American artists like Edward Hopper, Jacob Lawrence, and Georgia O'Keeffe, along with cutting-edge exhibitions featuring today's most celebrated contemporary artists.

Now on view, the Whitney Biennial, the Museum’s flagship exhibition and the country’s leading survey of contemporary American art, returns with a showcase of the most relevant art and ideas of our time. Plan your trip to experience this must-see exhibition and the cultural event of the season, and be sure to include a visit to the newly opened Studio Bar and Frenchette Bakery at the Whitney. Looking ahead, mark your calendars for Edges of Ailey, the first large-scale museum exhibition to reflect on the life, work, and legacy of visionary artist and choreographer Alvin Ailey, opening this September.

2024 Whitney Biennial
March 20–August 11, 2024
Don’t miss the art event that everyone in New York City is talking about! The Whitney Biennial showcases the most relevant art and ideas of our time and is often at the center of dynamic conversations that spark cultural shifts. For over 90 years, this landmark exhibition series has explored what’s new in the world of American contemporary art and has been the stage for thousands of artists—including iconic figures like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Andy Warhol. Occupying most of the Museum's gallery space, the Whitney Biennial introduces visitors to groundbreaking art movements and represents evolving notions of American art.

The acclaimed 2024 edition, Even Better Than the Real Thing, on view through August 11, features 71 contemporary artists and collectives from around the world innovating in painting, sculpture, digital art, and more, plus an expanded lineup of film screenings and live performances. For the first time in Whitney Biennial history, audiences can enjoy select Biennial films online via the streaming platform MUBI, as well as during special screenings at the Museum. More information about the Whitney Biennial can be found at whitney.org/biennial.

Current and Upcoming Exhibitions
On view through May 19, 2024, Harold Cohen: AARON traces the evolution of AARON, the earliest artificial intelligence (AI) software for artmaking and one of the longest-running contemporary art projects. Featuring artworks produced by AARON, this mesmerizing exhibition highlights its drawing process live in the galleries for the first time since the 1990s.

On view September 25, 2024, through February 2025, Edges of Ailey will explore the life and work of Alvin Ailey, one of the most important choreographers of modern dance. Widely recognized for the dance company he founded in 1958, Ailey imagined and cultivated a platform for modern dance through his innovative repertoire, interdisciplinary sensibility, and support of other dancers and choreographers. The exhibition will present an ambitious daily program of live performances, including works from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater repertory and new commissions as well as workshops, classes, and panels. More information about the current and upcoming exhibitions can be found at whitney.org/exhibitions.

Masterpieces from the Whitney Collection
The Whitney houses the foremost collection of American art from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, with a special focus on the most innovative artists of our time. Iconic works by Lee Krasner, Norman Lewis, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and many more are now on view in The Whitney’s Collection: Selections from 1900 to 1965. This multi-year presentation also includes a panoramic installation of Alexander Calder’s Calder’s Circus, which New York magazine calls “one of the most fun, beloved, and radical works of 20th-century American art.”

Frenchette Bakery
As part of the Whitney’s reimagined food and beverage program, Frenchette Bakery, which opened in TriBeCa in 2020, opened a new flagship location, with its first-ever cafe in the Museum’s redesigned ground-floor restaurant space in November 2023. The new Frenchette Bakery at the Whitney offers a grab-and-go bakery with a selection of on-premises-baked sweet and savory fare, as well as a sit-down, full-service cafe with pizzas, soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees, desserts, and a carefully selected wine, beer, and cocktail menu. The restaurant features a new installation from artist Rashid Johnson, a steel-grid sculpture laden with plants and ceramics, extending from within the Whitney out to the plaza.

In addition to the ground-floor restaurant, the Whitney worked with the team behind Frenchette on a new concept for the Museum’s eighth-floor cafe space. The newly revamped Studio Bar offers visitors a quiet space to take a break, recharge, have a snack or drink, and enjoy the Whitney’s terraces and views, all while remaining immersed in art. The eighth-floor space showcases a monumental artwork in mosaic tile by artist Dyani White Hawk.

Family and Public Programs
All year round, the Whitney offers free art programming for kids and teens on weekends and a robust slate of public programs and events for visitors of all ages. Programs range from guided tours and artist talks to artmaking, performances, and so much more. Throughout the month of June, the Whitney will present a series of free, on-site public programs and events celebrating Pride. More public program information can be found online at whitney.org/events.

About the Whitney’s Building
The Whitney Museum of American Art's building in downtown Manhattan's Meatpacking District opened to the public on May 1, 2015. Designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano and situated on Gansevoort Street between the High Line elevated park and the Hudson River, the new building greatly increased the Whitney's exhibition and programming space, providing the most expansive view ever of its unsurpassed collection of modern and contemporary American art. The building features outdoor galleries with striking views of the city and state-of-the-art facilities for performance, film, video, and education programs.

About the Neighborhood
The Whitney Museum of American Art is the cultural anchor of the Meatpacking District, a twenty-square-block area on the far West Side of Manhattan. A neighborhood where old New York meets the electric pace of the 21st century, today the Meatpacking District is bustling with numerous architecture and design firms, fashion boutiques, high-tech companies, innovative public parks, and some of New York's most notable restaurants, bars, clubs, and hotels. The neighborhood is bordered by Chelsea, renowned for its art galleries, cultural organizations, and Chelsea Market. The Whitney is only a few steps from the High Line, one of New York City's most exceptional public parks located thirty feet above street level on a 1930s freight railway, as well as Little Island and Gansevoort Peninsula. Day and night, the cobblestone streets of the Meatpacking District are alive with culture. The Whitney recently transformed the artist Roy Lichtenstein’s nearby Greenwich Village studio into a new permanent home for its Independent Study Program, creating a dynamic space for creativity and scholarship.

For press materials and image requests, please visit our press site at whitney.org/press or contact:

Emma LeHocky, Senior Publicist
Whitney Museum of American Art
(212) 671-1844
Emma_LeHocky@whitney.org

Benjamin Lipnick, Assistant Director, Tourism
Whitney Museum of American Art
(646) 666-5525
Benjamin_Lipnick@whitney.org

Whitney Press Office
whitney.org/press
(212) 570-3633
pressoffice@whitney.org

ABOUT THE WHITNEY

The Whitney Museum of American Art, founded in 1930 by the artist and philanthropist Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), houses the foremost collection of American art from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Mrs. Whitney, an early and ardent supporter of modern American art, nurtured groundbreaking artists when audiences were still largely preoccupied with the Old Masters. From her vision arose the Whitney Museum of American Art, which has been championing the most innovative art of the United States for ninety years. The core of the Whitney’s mission is to collect, preserve, interpret, and exhibit American art of our time and serve a wide variety of audiences in celebration of the complexity and diversity of art and culture in the United States. Through this mission and a steadfast commitment to artists, the Whitney has long been a powerful force in support of modern and contemporary art and continues to help define what is innovative and influential in American art today.

Whitney Museum Land Acknowledgment
The Whitney is located in Lenapehoking, the ancestral homeland of the Lenape. The name Manhattan comes from their word Mannahatta, meaning “island of many hills.” The Museum’s current site is close to land that was a Lenape fishing and planting site called Sapponckanikan (“tobacco field”). The Whitney acknowledges the displacement of this region’s original inhabitants and the Lenape diaspora that exists today.

As a museum of American art in a city with vital and diverse communities of Indigenous people, the Whitney recognizes the historical exclusion of Indigenous artists from its collection and program. The Museum is committed to addressing these erasures and honoring the perspectives of Indigenous artists and communities as we work for a more equitable future. To read more about the Museum’s Land Acknowledgment, visit the Museum’s website.

MUSEUM VISITOR INFORMATION

The Whitney Museum of American Art is located at 99 Gansevoort Street between Washington and West Streets, New York City. Public hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 10:30 am–6 pm; Friday, 10:30 am–10 pm; and Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 am–6 pm. Closed Tuesday. Visitors eighteen years and under and Whitney members: FREE. The Museum offers FREE admission and special programming for visitors of all ages every Friday evening from 5–10 pm and on the second Sunday of every month. Groups of ten or more enjoy discounted admission rates when they reserve in advance, and may request a private guided tour of the permanent collection or a special exhibition for an additional fee.