The Whitney Museum of American Art has named Meg Onli as its Curator-at-Large.
Onli is currently co-curating the 2024 Whitney Biennial with Chrissie Iles and previously served as co-director and curator of the Underground Museum in Los Angeles. She also served as curator at the ICA Philadelphia.
The appointment to Curator-at-Large comes as the role enters its 15th year being vacant at the Whitney Museum.
“This is truly a dream job,” Onli said in a statement. “I have always admired the Whitney’s long-standing history of field-defining exhibitions and support for emergent artist practices. I am very excited to be part of the life of the Whitney, and to collaborate and explore with the incredible team here.
“I am also so appreciative of the flexibility of the role, which affords me the opportunity to focus on the creative and bring new ideas and perspectives to the Museum. It is humbling to represent my hometown of Los Angeles, and its leading art scene. I look forward to being an ambassador and building bridges between emerging and overlooked voices in the art world and the Whitney.”
In the role, Onli will suggest acquisitions, curate exhibitions, and serve as a special projects advisor.
“Meg is that rare innovative thinker who glimpses the future while respecting the past,” said Scott Rothkopf, the museum’s chief curator and incoming director, in a statement. “I’ve already been dazzled by Meg’s thinking on the Biennial and know she has even more to contribute as the Whitney’s first curator at large in over a decade.”
Onli is an alum of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Her previous exhibitions include Colored People Time: Mundane Features, Quotidian Pasts, Banal Presents and Jessica Vaughn: Our Primary Focus Is To Be Successful.
During her time at the Underground Museum, she also opened a retrospective for filmmaker Ulysses Jenkins.