Controversies have been swirling around the Whitney Museum’s boardroom since last fall, almost guaranteeing that the institution’s 2019 biennial would stoke debate. But that debate arrived sooner—and rose to a higher decibel level—than expected on Monday afternoon, when the museum released the names of all 75 participating artists and collectives in the exhibition.
The news was somewhat overshadowed by the early withdrawal of celebrated cross-disciplinary artist Michael Rakowitz, who declined the museum’s invitation before the list’s official release. In an interview with the New York Times, he said that, in thinking through the idea of showing at the Whitney under the present circumstances, “I felt like I’d be betraying everything that I’ve ever cared about in the work I make.” An email to Rakowitz requesting further comment was not returned by press time.
Rakowitz’s decision comes after calls for drastic action against Warren B. Kanders, vice chair of the museum’s board. Led by Decolonize This Place, activists (including nearly 100 petition-signing Whitney staffers) began advocating for Kanders’s ouster late last year in the wake of a report by Hyperallergic highlighting his role as board chairman and owner of Safariland, the manufacturer responsible for the tear gas used by US Customs and Border Patrol against migrants who attempted to cross the Tijuana-San Diego border on November 27.
Since that time, a number of actions have been taken against the prestigious museum. Decolonize This Place and other activist groups held a joint protest in early December that included burning sage in the Whitney’s lobby, and artist Rafael Shimunov temporarily managed to install a painting based on a viral image of a mother and child assaulted by tear gas during the November border crossing attempt.
Curated by Jane Panetta and Rujeko Hockley, both on staff at the museum, the 2019 Whitney Biennial will feature 70 individual practitioners and another five artist collectives when it opens on May 19. Among the most renowned solo participants are the painter Nicole Eisenman, a two-time Whitney Biennial veteran and Guggenheim fellowship winner; the multimedia artist Wangechi Mutu, who recently presented a new commission at the ICA Boston; and the sculptor Simone Leigh, who won this year’s Hugo Boss Prize. The collective side of the roster is headlined by Forensic Architecture, whose work digitally reconstructing the realities of human-rights violations around the world earned it a nomination for the 2018 Turner Prize.
On the whole, the group skews young. Nearly 75 percent of the participants have yet to reach age 40, and just five have shown in a previous Whitney Biennial. The two most senior artists are Diane Simpson (age 84) and Barbara Hammer (age 80), who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The youngest artist in the group, Brooklynite Ilana Harris-Babou, celebrates her 28th birthday this year.
Women, meanwhile, hold a 38 to 32 majority within the group of individual artists. (The collective Las Nietas de Nonó consists of sisters Lydela Nonó and Michel Nonó.) The exhibition also features a panoply of geographical heritage, with artists working across North America and the rest of the world, including Puerto Rico, Mexico, Thailand, and Sweden.
In a statement, Decolonize This Place expressed respect and support for the participating artists and responded to the release of the list by writing, “We are organizing and in conversation with biennial artists on how we can pressure the museum to do the right thing, which begins with the removal of Warren Kanders. It is important to note that Warren Kanders is just the start of the crisis at the Whitney. There is no safe space for profiteers of all state violence.”
Another group important to the debate around the Whitney is Working Artists and the Greater Economy (WAGE). In line with its mission to establish equitable labor relations in arts nonprofits, WAGE publicly encouraged artists participating in the 2019 biennial to withhold their creative labor until the museum addresses staff members’ demands and financially compensates all artists for their contributions to the exhibition. According to the New York Times, all participating artists will receive the $1,500 fee suggested by WAGE. A representative of WAGE had not replied to a request for comment by press time.
The complete artist list for the 2019 Whitney Biennial can be found below, followed by the full statement from Decolonize This Place. This story will be updated as additional comments arrive.
Eddie Arroyo
Born 1976 in Miami, FL
Lives in Miami, FL
Korakrit Arunanondchai
Born 1986 in Bangkok, Thailand
Lives in New York, NY, and Bangkok, Thailand
Olga Balema
Born 1984 in Lviv, Ukraine
Lives in New York, NY
Morgan Bassichis
Born 1983 in Newton, MA
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Blitz Bazawule
Born 1982 in Accra, Ghana
Lives in New York, NY
Alexandra Bell
Born 1983 in Chicago, IL
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Brian Belott
Born 1973 in East Orange, NJ
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Meriem Bennani
Born 1988 in Rabat, Morocco
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Robert Bittenbender
Born 1987 in Washington, DC
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Lucas Blalock
Born 1978 in Asheville, NC
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Garrett Bradley
Born 1986 in New York, NY
Lives in New Orleans, LA
Milano Chow
Born 1987 in Los Angeles, CA
Lives in Los Angeles, CA
Colectivo Los Ingrávidos
Founded 2011 in Tehuacán, Mexico
Thirza Cuthand
Born 1978 in Regina, Saskatchewan
Lives in Toronto, Ontario
John Edmonds
Born 1989 in Washington, DC
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Nicole Eisenman
Born 1965 in Verdun, France
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Janiva Ellis
Born 1987 in Oakland, CA
Lives in Brooklyn, NY and Los Angeles, CA
Kota Ezawa
Born 1969 in Cologne, West Germany
Lives in Oakland, CA
Brendan Fernandes
Born 1979 in Nairobi, Kenya
Lives in Chicago, IL
FIERCE and Paper Tiger Television
FIERCE
Founded 2000 in New York, NY
Paper Tiger Television
Founded 1981 in New York, NY
Marcus Fischer
Born 1977 in Torrance, CA
Lives in Portland, OR
Forensic Architecture
Founded 2010 in London, United Kingdom
Ellie Ga
Born 1976 in New York, NY
Lives in Stockholm, Sweden
Nicholas Galanin
Born 1979 in Sitka, AK
Lives in Sitka, AK
Sofía Gallisá Muriente
Born 1986 in San Juan, PR
Lives in San Juan, PR
Jeffrey Gibson
Born 1972 in Colorado Springs, CO
Lives in Germantown, NY
Todd Gray
Born 1954 in Los Angeles, CA
Lives in Los Angeles, CA, and Akwidaa, Ghana
Sam Green
Born 1966 in Detroit, MI
Lives in New York, NY
Barbara Hammer
Born 1939 in Los Angeles, CA
Lives in New York, NY
Ilana Harris-Babou
Born 1991 in Brooklyn, NY
Lives in Williamstown, MA, and Brooklyn, NY
Matthew Angelo Harrison
Born 1989 in Detroit, MI
Lives in Detroit, MI
Curran Hatleberg
Born 1982 in Washington, DC
Lives in Baltimore, MD
Madeline Hollander
Born 1986 in Los Angeles, CA
Lives in New York, NY
Iman Issa
Born 1979 in Cairo, Egypt
Lives in Berlin, Germany, and New York, NY
Tomashi Jackson
Born 1980 in Houston, TX
Lives in New York, NY, and Cambridge, MA
Steffani Jemison
Born 1981 in Berkeley, CA
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Adam Khalil, Zack Khalil, and Jackson Polys
Adam Khalil
Born 1988 in Nyack, NY
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Zack Khalil
Born 1991 in Newton, MA
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Jackson Polys
Born 1976 in Ketchikan, AK
Lives in New York, NY
Christine Sun Kim
Born 1980 in Orange County, CA
Lives in Berlin, Germany
Josh Kline
Born 1979 in Philadelphia, PA
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Autumn Knight
Born 1980 in Houston, TX
Lives in New York, NY
Carolyn Lazard
Born 1987 in Upland, CA
Lives in Philadelphia, PA
Maia Ruth Lee
Born 1983 in Busan, South Korea
Lives in New York, NY
Simone Leigh
Born 1967 in Chicago, IL
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Daniel Lind-Ramos
Born 1953 in Loíza, PR
Lives in Loíza, PR
James Luna
Born 1950 in Orange, CA
Died 2018
Eric N. Mack
Born 1987 in Columbia, MD
Lives in New York, NY
Calvin Marcus
Born 1988 in San Francisco, CA
Lives in Los Angeles, CA
Tiona Nekkia McClodden
Born 1981 in Blytheville, AR
Lives in Philadelphia, PA
Troy Michie
Born 1985 in El Paso, TX
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Joe Minter
Born 1943 in Birmingham, AL
Lives in Birmingham, AL
Keegan Monaghan
Born 1986 in Evanston, IL
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Caroline Monnet
Born 1985 in Ottawa, Ontario
Lives in Montreal, Quebec
Darius Clark Monroe
Born 1980 in Houston, TX
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Ragen Moss
Born 1978 in New York, NY
Lives in Los Angeles, CA
Sahra Motalebi
Born 1979 in Birmingham, AL
Lives in New York, NY, and Delaware County, NY
Marlon Mullen
Born 1963 in Richmond, CA
Lives in Rodeo, CA
Jeanette Mundt
Born 1982 in Princeton, NJ
Lives in Somerset, NJ
Wangechi Mutu
Born 1972 in Nairobi, Kenya
Lives in Brooklyn, NY, and Nairobi, Kenya
Las Nietas de Nonó (Lydela Nonó and Michel Nonó)
Established 2011
Lydela Nonó
Born 1979 in San Juan, PR
Lives in Carolina, PR
Michel Nonó
Born 1982 in San Juan, PR
Lives in Carolina, PR
Jenn Nkiru
Born 1987 in London, United Kingdom
Lives in London, United Kingdom
Laura Ortman
Born 1973 in Whiteriver, AZ
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Jennifer Packer
Born 1984 in Philadelphia, PA
Lives in New York, NY
nibia pastrana santiago
Born 1987 in Caguas, PR
Lives in San Juan, PR
Elle Pérez
Born 1989 in the Bronx, NY
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Pat Phillips
Born 1987 in Lakenheath, United Kingdom
Lives in Pineville, LA
Gala Porras-Kim
Born 1984 in Bogotá, Colombia
Lives in Los Angeles, CA
Walter Price
Born 1989 in Macon, GA
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Carissa Rodriguez
Born 1970 in New York, NY
Lives in New York, NY
Paul Mpagi Sepuya
Born 1982 in San Bernardino, CA
Lives in Los Angeles, CA
Heji Shin
Born 1983 in Seoul, South Korea
Lives in New York, NY
Diane Simpson
Born 1935 in Joliet, IL
Lives in Wilmette, IL
Martine Syms
Born 1988 in Los Angeles, CA
Lives in Los Angeles, CA
Kyle Thurman
Born 1986 in West Chester, PA
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Mariana Valencia
Born 1984 in Chicago, IL
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Agustina Woodgate
Born 1981 in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Lives in Miami, FL, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Reached for comment, Decolonize This Place sent the following statement.
We respect and appreciate the artists and curators of the biennial, along with the staff who have spoken out against Kanders. We also appreciate Michael Rakowitz’s decision to boycott the Biennial. We stand in solidarity with all artists who make a similar decision in the coming months.
We are organizing and in conversation with biennial artists on how we can pressure the museum to do the right thing, which begins with the removal of Warren Kanders.
It is important to note that Warren Kanders is just the start of the crisis at the Whitney. There is no safe space for profiteers of all state violence.
As we move forward separately and together, we seek to supplement the work in the biennial, which exhibits the work of Indigenous, Black, and Brown artists also thinking through these issues. When we take creative actions in the coming months, and apply a diversity of tactics and strategies, it will be an extension of the issues raised in this biennial beyond representation to examine the funding and structural complicity of the museum in state violence against communities of color. We will do so with respect for the participants of the biennial, the curators, and the staff of the museum.
The 2019 Whitney Biennial will open May 19.
Caroline Goldstein contributed reporting.