Less than a month after the Whitney Museum of American Art opened its new downtown home, the institution is looking to broaden its reach far beyond New York. In May, the Whitney announced that Donna De Salvo, its long-time chief curator, is taking on the newly created role of deputy director for international programmes. (The curator Scott Rothkopf will replace De Salvo as chief curator.) In her new capacity, De Salvo plans to organise staff and loan exchanges, cultivate donors abroad and promote joint exhibitions and research that puts American art in an international context. “We are exploring as never before the layered, nuanced and changing meanings of the term ‘American art’ within contemporary global culture,” Adam Weinberg, the Whitney’s director, says in a statement. While the museum may be expanding its global focus, it does not intend to follow in the footsteps of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum or the Pompidou Centre. “We are not planning any pop-ups or expansion overseas,” a spokesman tells us.
