Teacher Guide:
Whitney Biennial 2022:
Quiet as It’s Kept
​Teacher Guide​
Apr 6–Oct 16, 2022

We are delighted to introduce Whitney Biennial 2022: Quiet as It’s Kept. The sixty-three artists and collectives participating in this eightieth edition of the Biennial encompass diverse backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, and gender identities that directly speak to audiences of today. Together, their work creates “a constellation of the most relevant art and ideas of our time.” 

This teacher guide provides information about some of the artists included in the Biennial and a framework for discussion about their artworks. It offers questions for exploration and suggestions for activities inspired by the artist’s work. It is organized according to our artist-centered themes to make connections between classroom learning and works of art. We hope that you and your students enjoy the Whitney Biennial 2022.

For additional 2022 Biennial resources, including audio guides, essays, and videos, please visit the exhibition page.

Credits

This Teacher Guide was written by María del Carmen González, Whitney educator, and Camilo Godoy, Whitney educator, with support from Melissa Robles, Manager of K-12 Initiatives and Youth Learning; Monica Sekaquaptewa, assistant to School and Educator programs; and Madison Conliffe, intern to School and Educator programs.

Generous support for Education Programs, including School and Educator Programs, is provided by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation; the Annenberg Foundation; Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, GRoW @ Annenberg; Krystyna Doerfler; The Paul & Karen Levy Family Foundation; Steven Tisch; and Laurie M. Tisch.

Major support is provided by Lise and Michael Evans, the Fund for Individual Potential, Ronnie and Michael Kassan, Barry and Mimi Sternlicht, and Burton P. and Judith B. Resnick.

Significant support is provided by Kevin and Rosemary McNeely, Manitou Fund.

Additional support is provided by the Barker Welfare Foundation; Con Edison; Ashley Leeds and Christopher Harland; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; and the Whitney's Education Committee.

Free Guided Student Visits for New York City Public and Charter Schools are endowed by The Allen and Kelli Questrom Foundation.

Whitney Biennial 2022: Quiet as It's Kept is presented by

Generous support is provided by

Generous support is also provided by Judy Hart Angelo; The Brown Foundation, Inc., of Houston; Elaine Graham Weitzen Foundation for Fine Arts; Lise and Michael Evans; John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation; Kevin and Rosemary McNeely, Manitou Fund; The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation; The Rosenkranz Foundation; Anne-Cecilie Engell Speyer and Robert Speyer; and the Whitney's National Committee.

Major support is provided by The Keith Haring Foundation Exhibition Fund, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and an anonymous donor.

Significant support is provided by 2022 Biennial Committee Co-Chairs: Jill Bikoff, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Barbara and Michael Gamson, Miyoung Lee, Bernard Lumpkin, Julie Mehretu, Fred Wilson; 2022 Biennial Committee Members: Philip Aarons and Shelley Fox Aarons, Sarah Arison and Thomas Wilhelm, Candy and Michael Barasch, James Keith (JK) Brown and Eric Diefenbach, Eleanor and Bobby Cayre, Alexandre and Lori Chemla, Suzanne and Bob Cochran, Jenny Brorsen and Richard DeMartini, Fairfax Dorn and Marc Glimcher, Stephen Dull, Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg, Melanie Shorin and Greg S. Feldman, Jeffrey & Leslie Fischer Family Foundation, Cindy and Mark Galant, Christy and Bill Gautreaux, Debra and Jeffrey Geller Family Foundation, Aline and Gregory Gooding, Janet and Paul Hobby, Harry Hu, Peter H. Kahng, Michèle Gerber Klein, Ashley Leeds and Christopher Harland, Dawn and David Lenhardt, Jason Li, Marjorie Mayrock, Stacey and Robert Morse, Daniel Nadler, Opatrny Family Foundation, Orentreich Family Foundation, Nancy and Fred Poses, Marylin Prince, Eleanor Heyman Propp, George Wells and Manfred Rantner, Martha Records and Richard Rainaldi, Katie and Amnon Rodan, Jonathan M. Rozoff, Linda and Andrew Safran, Subhadra and Rohit Sahni, Erica and Joseph Samuels, Carol and Lawrence Saper, Allison Wiener and Jeffrey Schackner, Jack Shear, Annette and Paul Smith, the Stanley and Joyce Black Family Foundation, Robert Stilin, Rob and Eric Thomas-Suwall, and Patricia Villareal and Tom Leatherbury; as well as the Alex Katz Foundation, Further Forward Foundation, the Kapadia Equity Fund, Gloria H. Spivak, and an anonymous donor.

Funding is also provided by special Biennial endowments created by Melva Bucksbaum, Emily Fisher Landau, Leonard A. Lauder, and Fern and Lenard Tessler. 

Curatorial research and travel for this exhibition were funded by an endowment established by Rosina Lee Yue and Bert A. Lies, Jr., MD.

New York magazine is the exclusive media sponsor.