Teacher Guide:
Whitney Biennial 2024: Even Better Than the Real Thing
Mar 20–Aug 11, 2024

The Whitney Museum is delighted to present the eighty-first edition of the Whitney Biennial—the longest-running survey of contemporary art in the United States—currently featuring seventy-one artists and collectives grappling with many of today’s most pressing issues.

This guide provides a structure for educators to begin discussions in response to artworks by six artists in the exhibition. It presents artist biographies, artwork descriptions, and exploratory questions with studio and writing activities for the classroom inspired by each work. Activities engage with storytelling, experimentation, and critique.

We hope you and your students enjoy exploring the artworks in the Whitney Biennial. For additional resources, please visit the exhibition page.

Credits

This Teacher Guide was written by Jaqueline Cedar, Whitney Educator, and Jeannette Rodríguez-Píneda, Whitney Educator, with support from Melissa Robles, Manager of K-12 Initiatives and Youth Learning; Monica Sekaquaptewa, Coordinator of K-12 Initiatives; and Angel Fosuhene, Assistant to K-12 Initiatives and Youth Learning.

Generous support for Education Programs in the Laurie M. Tisch Education Center is provided by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation; the Annenberg Foundation; Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, GRoW @ Annenberg; Krystyna Doerfler; Kevin, Rosemary, and Hannah Rose McNeely; Steven Tisch; Laurie M. Tisch; the Whitney's Education Committee; and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. 

Major support is provided by Lise and Michael Evans; Ronnie and Michael Kassan; Barry and Mimi Sternlicht; and Burton P. and Judith B. Resnick. 

Additional support is provided by Ashley Leeds and Christopher Harland and public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the Office of Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal. 

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