# List of Whitney Biennial curators

This is a complete list of Whitney Biennial curators who have curated or are scheduled to curate the Whitney Biennial exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, United States. The Whitney Biennial began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973.

## History

The Whitney Museum had a long history beginning in 1932 of having a large group exhibition of invited American artists every year called the 'Whitney Annual'. In the late sixties, it was decided to alternate between painting and sculpture, although by the 1970s the decision was to combine both together in a biennial. The first biennial was curated by a curatorial committee under direction of director John I. H. Baur. The 1975 Whitney Biennial, the first to credit curators with the show curation, acknowledged the five person curatorial team of John Hanhardt, Barbara Haskell, James Monte, Elke Solomon, and Marcia Tucker. The catalog additionally acknowledges how the curators' work was co-supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

## Whitney Biennial Curators

| Year | Curator/Organizers | Affiliated Curator/s & Advisor/s |
| 2026 | Marcela Guerrero Drew Sawyer | |
| 2024 | Chrissie Iles Meg Onli | |
| 2022 | David Breslin Adrienne Edwards | Gabriel Almeida Baroja - Curatorial Project Assistant Margaret Kross - former Senior Curatorial Assistant |
| 2019 | Jane Panetta Rujeko Hockley | film program guest curated by Maori Karmael Holmes, Matt Wolf, and Sky Hopinka. |
| 2017 | Christopher Y. Lew Mia Locks | co-curated film program with Aily Nash |
| 2014 | Stuart Comer Anthony Elms Michelle Grabner | |
| 2012 | Elisabeth Sussman Jay Sanders | co-curated film program with Thomas Beard and Ed Halter, co-founders of Light Industry |
| 2010 | Francesco Bonami Gary Carrion-Murayari | |
| 2008 | Henriette Huldisch Shamim M. Momin | overseen by Donna De Salvo, advisors: Thelma Golden, Bill Horrigan, Linda Norden |
| 2006 | Philippe Vergne Chrissie Iles | |
| 2004 | Chrissie Iles Shamim M. Momin Debra Singer | |
| 2002 | Lawrence Rinder | Chrissie Iles, curator of film and video Christiane Paul, curator of Internet-based art works Debra Singer, curator of performance and sound art |
| 2000 | Maxwell L. Anderson Michael Auping Valerie Cassel Hugh M. Davies Jane Farver Andrea Miller-Keller Lawrence R. Rinder | |
| 1997 | Lisa Phillips Louise Neri | |
| 1995 | Klaus Kertess | |
| 1993 | Elisabeth Sussman | Associate Curators - Lisa Phillips, John Hanhardt and Thelma Golden |
| 1991 | Richard Armstrong Richard D. Marshall Lisa Phillips John Hanhardt | |
| 1989 | Richard Armstrong Richard D. Marshall Lisa Phillips | with John Hanhardt choosing the artists in the film and video section. |
| 1987 | Richard Armstrong Richard D. Marshall Lisa Phillips | |
| 1985 | John Hanhardt Barbara Haskell Richard D. Marshall Lisa Phillips Patterson Sims | Richard Armstrong (museum director) |
| 1983 | John Hanhardt Barbara Haskell Richard D. Marshall Lisa Phillips Patterson Sims | |
| 1981 | John Hanhardt Barbara Haskell Richard D. Marshall Lisa Phillips Patterson Sims | |
| 1979 | John Hanhardt Barbara Haskell Richard D. Marshall Mark Segal Patterson Sims | |
| 1977 | Barbara Haskell Marcia Tucker | Patterson Sims, Associate Curator |
| 1975 | John Hanhardt Barbara Haskell James Monte Elke Solomon Marcia Tucker | |
| 1973 | Curatorial Committee | under direction of director John I. H. Baur |