Whitney Museum Hosts Inaugural Tour And Conversation In New Virtual Event Space

Still from the Whitney Museum of American Art’s virtual platform on Mozilla Hubs, 2023. Image courtesy Design Bridge and Partners

On June 29, curator Christiane Paul will lead a virtual tour and conversation centered around the current exhibition Refigured in the Museum’s new digital space.

The Whitney Museum of American Art presents Refigured: A Virtual Conversation and Tour, the inaugural program in the Museum’s new virtual event space. Hosted on Mozilla Hubs, the fully digital program will be guided by Christiane Paul, Curator of Digital Art at the Whitney, on Thursday, June 29, 4 pm. Paul will lead a conversation in conjunction with the exhibition Refigured joined by artists Morehshin Allahyari, American Artist, Zach Blas, Auriea Harvey, and Rachel Rossin. The convening in the virtual world of Mozilla Hubs will reflect on the interplay between our physical and virtual realities. The program will focus on how the artists reinvent material forms and bodies to imagine alternative ways of constructing identity. Visitors are invited to watch a livestream of the event on Zoom and explore the artworks in the virtual event space after the conversation.

“As digital technology increasingly intersects with our daily lives and shapes them, we are excited to offer public programs in a virtual world that reflects on this evolution and lends itself to the artists’ work,” says Paul. “We look forward to exploring the potential and possibilities of future discussions or events in a virtual venue.”

The virtual space concept is a collaborative effort between the Whitney Museum and design partners at Design Bridge and Partners.

Program Details
Refigured: A Virtual Conversation and Tour

Thursday, June 29, 4 pm

Location: Online, via Zoom
Tickets: Free with registration.
Event link: whitney.org/events/refigured-a-virtual-conversation

About the Exhibition

Refigured brings together five installations by leading artists working in the field of digital art to reflect on the ways technology intersects with and influences our ever-evolving identities, underscoring the dynamic between digital and physical artworks and blurring boundaries between them. Drawing from the Museum’s collection and including digital video and animation, virtual sculpture, and augmented reality, the installations in this exhibition respond to the various forces that form identity and engage with the concept of “refiguring.” Sculptures are presented concurrently in digital and physical space alongside animations that escape the confinement of screens and reach into the gallery. Constructs of identity, self-representation, structures of oppression, and colonialism are explored through a variety of lenses and mediums. Some artists investigate the ways identity is reflected in the structures of artificial intelligence and computer interfaces, while others consider how selfhood transforms in online environments and ancient cultural myths.

The exhibition is on view through July 3, 2023 in the Museum’s Lobby Gallery, a space that is accessible to the public free of charge and often highlights the latest emerging talent and innovation in American art.

EXHIBITION SUPPORT

Generous support for Refigured is provided by the John R. Eckel, Jr. 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 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.

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. Admission is pay-what-you-wish on Fridays, 7–10 pm. COVID-19 vaccination and face coverings are not required but strongly recommended. We encourage all visitors to wear face coverings that cover the nose and mouth throughout their visit.