The Whitney is Open!
May 4, 2015
Adam D. Weinberg, Alice Pratt Brown Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art welcomes the new Whitney’s first visitors! Photograph by Filip Wolak
After an exciting whirlwind of previews and receptions, the Whitney’s new building is open! Whitney staff welcomed and cheered the first visitors as they entered the Museum on Friday, May 1.
Michelle Obama speaks at the dedication of the Whitney Museum of American Art. Photograph by Filip Wolak
The Whitney inaugurated the opening of its new home on April 30 with a dedication ceremony featuring remarks by Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States of America, Flora Miller Biddle, Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Whitney Museum of American Art and granddaughter of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney as well as Robert J. Hurst, Co-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Whitney Museum of American Art, Adam D. Weinberg, Alice Pratt Brown Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the new building’s architect, Renzo Piano, and The Honorable Bill de Blasio, Mayor of the City of New York.
During her remarks, Michelle Obama said: “I fell in love with the building. It is an amazing space. . . .One visit, one performance, one touch, and who knows how you could spark a child’s imagination. . . .Maybe you can discover the next Carmen Herrera, or Archibald Motley, or Edward Hopper, or maybe even the next Barack Obama. That is the power of institutions like the Whitney. They open their doors as wide as possible both to the artists they embrace and to the young people they seek to uplift.”
Mrs. Obama also noted that the exhibition, America Is Hard to See, will be particularly powerful for young people when they can see that the art on view is part of their American story, and with our Education programs, the Whitney is “reaching out to kids from all backgrounds, exposing them to the arts, showing them that they have something to contribute.” She charged museums and cultural institutions to make a commitment to young people: “I’m here because I believe so strongly in that mission, and because I think that every cultural institution in this country should be doing this kind of outreach and engagement with our young people every single day.”
The Wooster Group cuts the ribbon at the dedication ceremony. Photograph by Filip Wolak
The remarks were followed by Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, a performance by The Wooster Group and New York City teens from the Whitney’s Youth Insights Program. In the afternoon we greeted our professional colleagues in the galleries and on the outdoor terraces. Indeed, there have been so many magical moments in the past two weeks as we’ve witnessed the building coming to life after four years of construction.
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By Dina Helal
Manager of Education Resources