Jay Sanders Appointed Whitney Curator

Following his work as co-curator of the 2012 Whitney Biennial, Jay Sanders has been appointed a full-time curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Sanders will be the institution's first curator to specialize in performance arts.

During the biennial, co-curated with the Whitney's Elizabeth Sussman, the museum's fourth floor was left mostly open as a large stage for performance art. The space hosted some of the exhibition's most talked about pieces, including Bucksbaum Award winner Sarah Michelson's Devotion Study #1—The American Dancer.

A director at New York's Greene Naftali gallery from 2005–2010, Sanders organized New York's Numina Lente music and performance festival in April 2011 as an independent curator.

Come the opening of their new Meatpacking District home in 2015, the Whitney will include new auditorium and theater spaces. Whitney director Adam D. Weinberg stresses that Sanders's work will not be limited by his specialty. He told the New York Times, "while Jay will be responsible for the performing arts, he will be curating shows across all media."




Photo: David Armstrong