School of Art alumni and faculty members selected for 2019 Whitney Biennial in NYC

Nine alumni or faculty artists from the Yale School of Art have been selected to participate in the Seventy-Ninth Whitney Biennial, which will run from May 17 through Sept. 22 at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

The exhibition will include Yale School of Art alumni John Edmonds ’16 M.F.A., Ilana Harris-Babou ’13 B.A., Curran Hatleberg ’10 M.F.A., Tomashi Jackson ’16 M.F.A., Eric N. Mack ’12 M.F.A., Troy Michie ’11 M.F.A., Wangechi Mutu ’00 M.F.A., Jennifer Packer ’12 M.F.A., and Elle Pérez ’15 M.F.A.

Curators Jane Panetta and Rujeko Hockley conducted more than 300 studio visits to select the 75 participating artists — 75% of which are under 40 and only five of whom have previously appeared in a Whitney Biennial. “In part, this emphasis resulted from what we saw during our research across the U.S.,” Panetta told Artforum, “as we were struck by the profound difficulties of our current moment and the ways in which so many artists we encountered are struggling and facing fewer opportunities to present their work publicly.”

Each of the artists selected earned their M.F.A. at the Yale School of Art with the exception of Harris-Babou, who attended the School of Art as an undergraduate. Edmonds, Michie, and Pérez have since joined the School of Art faculty, and Hatleberg will be a visiting artist in photography next month. Yale School of Art faculty member A.L. Steiner will also be participating in the Biennial as part of photographer Paul Mpagi Sepuya’s collaborative project.