The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, has announced Drew Sawyer as curator of photography Sondra Gilman, art news reports. Sawyer arrives at the institution from the Brooklyn Museum, where he was curator of Phillip and Edith Leonian. He will take the reins from Elisabeth Sussman in July. Sussman, who has held the position for decades, will remain at the Whitney in an as yet unknown capacity. Sawyer will be responsible for leading the photography acquisition committee; Along with curator of drawings and prints Kim Conaty, he will direct the Sondra Gilman Study Center, which houses Whitney’s collection of more than nineteen thousand prints, drawings and photographs.
“Drew is one of the most lively and penetrating minds in photography and contemporary art today,” said Scott Rothkopf, of Whitney’s incoming directorin a report.
Sawyer joined the Brooklyn Museum in 2018; there he hosted shows by artists such as Liz Johnson Artur, Jimmy de Sana and Garry Winogrand. His latest exhibition for the institution, “Copy Machine Manifestos: Artists Who Make Zines,” opens in November. Before coming to the Brooklyn Museum, Sawyer held curatorial positions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio, where he curated the acclaimed group exhibition “Art after Stonewall, 1969 -1989” and co-founded the Center for Art and Social Engagement. He got his doctorate. in Art History from Columbia University.
Sawyer’s exit from the Brooklyn Museum follows that of Senior Curator Eugenie Tsai, who announced his departure May 18.
“I am thrilled to join the Whitney team at a pivotal time in the institution’s history, and I look forward to continuing their work advocating for living artists and redefining discourses on photography and art. Americans through its renowned collection and programming,” Sawyer said in a statement.
Sussman, who in 2013 received Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies, 2013 Audrey Irmas Award for curatorial excellence, is currently completing work on the first institutional solo exhibition of artist, experimental filmmaker and music ethnologist Harry Smith; the show goes In sight at the Whitney in October.
