Julie Mehretu, Of Other Planes of There (S.R.), 2018–19. Ink and acrylic on canvas, 108 × 120 in. (274.32 × 304.8 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from Anna and Matt Freedman and an anonymous donor. Photograph by Tom Powel Imaging. © Julie Mehretu
The Museum will also offer complimentary admission on July 29 and 30
On July 28, the Whitney Museum of American Art brings together artists and scholars for Black/Queer/Abstract, a day-long event hosted in conjunction with the current exhibition Julie Mehretu. The program features presentations, conversations, and readings from artists and thinkers across disciplines whose work engages with Black and Queer radical thought through forms of abstraction. The free event will be held in the Museum’s first floor Kenneth C. Griffin Hall from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and the fifth floor galleries will be open for registrants to view Julie Mehretu.
A reading by poet, performer, and educator Patricia Smith kicks off the event, followed by a series of conversations that bridge the arts, humanities, and sciences. The program brings together a wide range of participants, including artists Kevin Beasley, Julie Mehretu, and Martin Puryear; writer and filmmaker Kodwo Eshun; poet Robin Coste Lewis; poet and educator Tracy K. Smith; scientists and professors Dr. Bianca Marlin and Dr. Charles Zuker; and Whitney curators Adrienne Edwards and Rujeko Hockley. Adam D. Weinberg, the Museum’s Alice Pratt Director will also deliver opening remarks.
The event is free with pre-registration and seating is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Proof of vaccination or recent negative Covid test is required for entry. Audiences can also access the event digitally by registering for the livestream hosted online via Zoom.
The Museum also announced that it will offer complimentary admission on Thursday, July 29 and Friday, July 30. Visitors can reserve their timed-entry tickets in advance on whitney.org beginning Tuesday, July 13. Free admission is made possible by the Ford Foundation, who is also supporting Black/Queer/Abstract.
For program updates, please visit: whitney.org/events
Exhibition Support
Generous support is provided by the Ford Foundation and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the
Visual Arts.
In New York, the exhibition is sponsored by Bank of America.
Generous support is provided by Judy Hart Angelo; the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation; the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation and Jack Shear; Kevin and Rosemary McNeely, Manitou Fund; The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation; and the Whitney’s National Committee.
Major support is provided by Lise and Michael Evans, Agnes Gund, Sueyun and Gene Locks, Susan and Larry Marx, and Sami and Hala Mnaymneh.
Significant support is provided by Sarah Arison, Abigail and Joseph Baratta, Fotene and Tom Coté, Krystyna Doerfler, the Evelyn Toll Family Foundation, Andrew and Barbara Gundlach, Mellody Hobson, the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, the Kapadia Equity Fund, Jill and Peter Kraus, Ashley Leeds and Christopher Harland, Suzanne McFayden, Katie and Amnon Rodan, and Sotheby’s.
Additional support is provided by The Cowles Charitable Trust; Jeffrey Deitch; Rebecca and Martin Eisenberg; Christy and Bill Gatreaux; Miyoung Lee and Neil Simpkins; the Robert Lehman Foundation, Inc.; Laura Rapp and Jay Smith; Barbara Shuster; and Rosina Lee Yue.
New York magazine is the exclusive media sponsor.
Black/Queer/Abstract: A convening on the occasion of Julie Mehretu is generously supported by the Ford Foundation.
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 at a time 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 themselves, 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.
