Whitney Museum of American Art - Independent Study Program

Independent Study Program

In 1968, Ron Clark, at the age of 25, established in conjunction with the Whitney Museum of American Art an independent study program (known as the ISP or sometimes the Whitney ISP), which helped start the careers of artists, critics, and curators including Julian Schnabel, Paul Pfeiffer, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Kathryn Bigelow, Roberta Smith, and Mai-Thu Perret, as well as many other well-known, influential cultural producers. The program includes separate art history and studio programs. The programs include Critical Studies, Curatorial Studies and the Studio Program for Artists. Each year the Independent Study Program selects fourteen students to participate in the Studio Program (artists), four in the Curatorial Program (curators) and six in the Critical Studies Program (researchers). It is a one year program that includes many both visiting and hired influential artists, art historians, and critics and involves the reading of theory. Ron Clark remains director of the program.