Whitney Biennial in Central Park Organized by the Public Art Fund

In a first-time effort, organized by the Public Art Fund, the Biennial moves outdoors to Central Park. Intended to be surprising encounters in the flow of daily life, five major artists' projects were commissioned by the Public Art Fund for specific sites within the park. All five artists -- Keith Edmier, Kim Sooja, Roxy Paine, Kiki Smith, and Brian Tolle -- are New Yorkers. They were selected jointly by Lawrence Rinder, the Anne & Joel Ehrenkranz Curator of Contemporary Art at the Whitney Museum of American Art; and Tom Eccles, Director of the Public Art Fund.

For those already privy to the surprise, tours are given in April and May through a collaboration with the Central Park Conservancy. Also, signs will guide parkgoers on a walking tour of the Whitney Biennial in Central Park. Parkgoers will be able to view each of the five works in one visit, proceeding from the park's southeast entrance, at the corner of 59th Street and Fifth Avenue at Doris C. Freedman Plaza, to the Lake just north of the 72nd Street transverse, and exiting the park near the Whitney Museum. Free maps for the Whitney Biennial in Central Park are available in the Leaping Frog Café or at the Central Park Visitors Centers at the Dairy and Belvedere Castle. Click here to download and print a .pdf version of the Whitney Biennial in Central Park map.



Free Tour Dates and Times

Sunday, April 14 at 3pm
Sunday, April 28 at 3pm
Saturday, May 4 at 3pm
Wednesday, May 22 at 6pm

Meet at the 5th Ave and 60th Street, Doris C. Freedman Plaza. Tours are offered through a collaboration with the Central Park Conservancy

The Whitney Biennial in Central Park is part of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition, on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art from March 7 through May 26, 2002.

This ambitious project is the result of a collaborative effort between the Public Art Fund; the Whitney Museum of American Art; the Central Park Conservancy; and the Department of Parks and Recreation. It is made possible through the cooperation and support of the City of New York/Parks & Recreation; the Honorable Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of the City of New York; and the Honorable Adrian Benepe, Commissioner, City of New York/Parks & Recreation. The exhibition received additional support from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Cultural Challenge Grant 2002, Melissa and Robert Soros, and Third Millenium Foundation.

Keith Edmier's Emil Dobbelstein and Henry Drope, 1944 is a project of the Public Art Fund program In the Public Realm, which is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President, The Greenwall Foundation, the Jerome Foundation, the Silverweed Foundation, the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, and friends of the Public Art Fund.