Whitney Biennial - History

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 occurred in 1973. Since then, the biennials have pursued a different curatorial approach to include all media.

In the past the Whitney Museum has tried different ways to organize its biennial. It has used its own staff members and invited outside curators, including Europeans, to present the show. In 2010 it even asked a former art dealer, Jay Sanders, who would later become a Whitney curator, to help organize one.

The Whitney Biennial often extends to sculpture exhibitions in Central Park. The 2008 edition took over the Park Avenue Armory as a space for performance and installation art. The 2013 Whitney Biennial is the last one in the museum’s Marcel Breuer building. The museum is leaving the Upper East Side for the meatpacking district, where it is scheduled to open its new building, designed by Renzo Piano, in 2015.

In 1987, the show was protested by the Guerrilla Girls for its alleged sexism and racism.

Since 2000, the Bucksbaum Award has been awarded to an artist exhibiting at the Biennial.