AitN: March 11, 2019

In early March, the Whitney Museum of American Art announced the artists represented in the 2019 Whitney Biennial, the long-running show that celebrates American Art. Ragen Moss ’00, Steffani Jemison ’03 and Kyle Thurman ’09 have works featured in the exhibition, which was co-curated by Rujeko Hockley ’05. From the press release: “Featuring seventy-five artists working in painting, sculpture, installation, film and video, photography, performance, and sound, the 2019 Biennial takes the pulse of the contemporary artistic moment.”

The 2019 PEN/Faulkner Award finalists were announced on March 5; among them was Ivelisse Rodriguez ’97 for Love War Stories. The winner will be announced on April 29 and will receive $15,000, while the remaining four finalists receive $5,000. All five authors will be honored during the 39th Annual PEN/Faulkner Award ceremony on May 4.

Tony Kushner ’78, playwright of the Tony award-winning Angels in America, participated in a March 5 Q&A for Vulture with playwright Heidi Schreck, in advance of Schreck’s newest work, What the Constitution Means to Me, transferring from the New York Theatre Workshop to Broadway. Said Kushner, who attended the show three times: “… every time I went back, I left feeling more hope about the survival of our democracy. Great art always does that to a certain extent…”

Steve Gottlieb ’68 received the ranking of number 1 doubles player (in tennis) in the United States in the “70 and Over” age division for 2018. The ranking was largely based on Gottlieb winning two national championships – the National Clay Court Championship and National Grass Court Championship (with different partners).