artport: A History of Internet Art

artport: A History of Internet Art marks the 25th anniversary of artport, the Whitney’s online gallery space for commissions of net art, which launched in 2001. Since its inception, artport has presented a snapshot of the varied practices artists use to engage with an ever-evolving online environment. Taking place online and in the gallery, the exhibition tells a history of the evolution of net art over a quarter century and features more than 100 works commissioned specifically for artport.

The exhibition presented on the Museum’s 6th Floor is structured around the three main commissioning categories of the artport website: the Gate Pages, created from 2001 to 2006 as portals to artists’ websites; the main Commissions, which have been ongoing since 2001; and the Sunrise/Sunset series, which ran from 2009 to 2024, along with its successor, On the Hour. In the galleries, the open floor plan creates the impression of floating browser windows, bringing the history of online art into physical space.

Working across code, data visualization, nonlinear narrative, worldbuilding, gaming environments, and AI-driven net art, the artists in the exhibition explore how the internet has reshaped privacy, identity, self-perception, surveillance, and the boundaries between online and offline life. Together, the works offer a wide-ranging look at how artists have used the internet as both a site and a medium for artistic production.

The artport anniversary exhibition will include the world premiere of Human Unreadable Act III, by the artist duo Operator. This live performance is the culmination of Human Unreadable, Operator's seminal generative choreography work unfolding in three acts since 2023. Act III is a multimedia performance and examination of the artists' negotiations between the body, ambition, and technology. The performances will take place in the Whitney's Susan and John Hess Family Theater on November 19, 21, and 22.

artport: A History of Internet Art is organized by Christiane Paul, Curator of Digital Art, with David Lisbon, Curatorial Assistant, and Colin Brooks, Head of Digital Development.

Major support for artport: A History of Internet Art is provided by the Adam D. Weinberg Artists First Fund; the Alan Howard Collection; the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; Judy Hart Angelo; The KHR McNeely Family Foundation | Kevin, Rosemary, and Hannah Rose McNeely; and The Rosenkranz Foundation. 

Generous support is provided by David and Amanda Cancel, the Generative Art Foundation, and the McCallum Family.

Additional support is provided by The David Bermant Foundation.

This project has benefited from major support through the onchain platform Endaoment.

Major support for the catalogue is provided by the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation.