Long before scrolling was a lifestyle, artists were already making art out of the internet — and the Whitney is giving them their due. Opening November 21, “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.
The exhibition takes place both online and in the galleries, telling the story of a quarter century of net art with more than 100 works commissioned specifically for artport. On the Museum’s 6th floor, the show is organized around artport’s three main commissioning categories — the early Gate Pages (2001–2006), the ongoing Commissions (since 2001) and the Sunrise/Sunset series (2009–2024) with its successor, On the Hour. The gallery’s open floor plan is designed to feel like floating browser windows, bringing the history of online art into physical space.
Working across code, data visualization, nonlinear storytelling, worldbuilding, gaming environments and AI-driven net art, the featured artists explore how the internet has reshaped privacy, identity, self-perception and surveillance. The anniversary exhibition will also include the world premiere of “Human Unreadable Act III” by the artist duo Operator. A love letter to the web’s wildest creative frontier — right in the heart of Manhattan.
Photo: Whitney Museum of American Art
