The Whitney Museum of American Art marks a major milestone with its latest exhibition titled artport: A History of Internet Art. This exhibition celebrates the 25th anniversary of the museum’s dedicated online space for net art, which began in 2001. Over the past quarter-century, artport has acted as a platform for artists to document the changing nature of the internet and how it influences human experience.
The exhibition occupies both the digital domain and the museum’s physical 6th floor galleries. Designers organized the physical space to mimic floating browser windows, allowing visitors to walk through a history of web-based creativity. The display showcases over 100 works commissioned by the institution, covering categories like the early Gate Pages and the long-running Commissions and Sunrise/Sunset series.
Artists featured in this exhibition work with code, data visualization, and AI to address critical topics such as surveillance, privacy, and identity. These works examine how the internet acts as both a medium for art and a site for cultural production. The exhibition provides a record of how technical tools change our perception of the world and our own bodies within digital environments.
As part of this anniversary event, the artist duo Operator will premiere Human Unreadable Act III. This final installment of their three-part generative choreography project investigates the intersection of human ambition and technology. Performances are scheduled for the Susan and John Hess Family Theater at the Whitney on November 19, 21, and 22.
The project reflects the ongoing commitment of the Whitney to engage with new media. By archiving and displaying internet-based works, the museum ensures that these projects remain accessible to the public as the technology underpinning them continues to shift. Visitors can explore the history of digital commissions that have shaped the museum's role in the art world since the turn of the millennium.