Scott Rothkopf, Chief Curator and Senior Deputy Director, Whitney Museum of American Art

By Hillary Bisonó Ortega ’21

Initially, I did not know what to expect from this experience as the only museum experience I’ve ever had was an intern experience at the New-York Historical Society in high school. I felt intimidated knowing that I would be in the presence of an auction house’s specialized directors, and uncomfortable with the idea of heading into the lavish homes of collectors and directors. Though, I can now say that the experience was incredibly humbling but indeed telling of the type of work that I strive to go into. 

    As a Latina, my personalized goal for this trip was to come out with a sense of how many persons of color are in the museum field, and how much work is exhibited by said people of color. In the entirety of the 3-day trip, Black, Brown, Latinx, Queer, Fem, and every other folk in between was mentioned approximately 4 times in specific instances. I primarily want to focus on both Scott Rothkopf, Chief Curator of the Whitney Museum, and Lauren Panzo, a Chief Director of the Pace MacGill Gallery. 

During our interview with Scott Rothkopf, he continuously mentioned the importance of representing queer and womxn artists. Which led me to question, if those two identities are being given the platform to present themselves, does the same happen for Black, Brown, and Latinx artists who also can be women or queer. Essentially, was there an understanding by the Whitney Museum that intersectional identities do exist, and how are they representing these intersectional identities. Rothkopf’s response was expected. He explained that the term Latinx is relatively new, and his interest in that change made him become interested in researching and obtaining Latinx art. Rothkopf also explained that amongst their approximately 30 curators, about 4 are people of color. With that being said, this conversation solidified my want and need to represent artists who have intersectional identities if I enter the field of museum work. Furthermore, I believe that there should be more representation of people of color in the field, however, the field itself seems so exclusive and impossible to enter. 

On the other hand, Lauren Panzo, when allowing us to enter the back showroom, she pointed out an image of James Baldwin, who collaborated with a photographer to illustrate the literary process of James Baldwin. Panzo seemed quite proud of this image when she enveloped in conversation solely about it. This was an interesting realization, there seems to be more area for a person of color’s dialogue or voice to make itself known through the means of photography more so than that of other artistic mediums. 

In conclusion, this experience was one that I can carry with me forever and one that will serve as motivation for my future goals pertaining to museum work, and whether I truly want to enter it and become apart of its lifestyle.