Whitney Museum Taps Alumna to Lead Independent Study Program

The Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program (ISP) just got a new director, and she’s already making history. Soyoung Yoon, an alumna of the program herself, is stepping into the role on June 16, becoming the first woman and person of color to lead the influential, degree-free incubator for artists and thinkers.

This isn't just a feel-good story about breaking barriers, though. It’s also about hitting the reset button on a program that’s seen its share of drama lately. The ISP, known for nurturing talents like Tony Cokes and Andrea Fraser, controversially paused applications for its 2025–26 cohort, with the next class not arriving until fall 2027. Which, if you think about it, is quite a hiatus for an institution dedicated to cutting-edge thought.

Yoon, who currently directs the Fine Arts MFA Program at Parsons School of Design and teaches at the New School, knows the ISP intimately. She was a Critical Studies fellow in 2006–07 and later returned to lead seminars from 2012 to 2023. She's also credited with tripling enrollment in Lang College’s Visual Studies Program, proving she knows a thing or two about getting people interested.

She described her initial connection to the ISP as an “ideal for theory in practice,” stemming from her activism in student movements in Seoul. Apparently, the program remains a beacon for those who enjoy questioning established practices and, you know, trying to change the world.

The ISP's Recent Plot Twists

The program’s recent pause came after its founding director, Ron Clark, retired in 2023. His successor, Gregg Bordowitz, was demoted to director-at-large just months into the role, a move the Whitney attributed to challenges in transitioning leadership. Because apparently, leading a group of critical thinkers is harder than it looks.

Then things got spicy. The museum canceled a performance by its 2024–25 ISP cohort that addressed the war in Gaza. Artists involved accused the Whitney of censorship, citing “exclusionary and inflammatory” content as the museum’s reason for pulling the plug. An open letter signed by hundreds of ISP alumni and faculty quickly rallied behind the artists, making it clear that freedom of expression is still a thing.

Yoon, having recently served on a 15-person advisory committee tasked with figuring out the ISP's future, seems uniquely positioned to navigate these waters. Adrienne Edwards, the Whitney’s senior curator, praised Yoon’s “intellectual rigor” and “superb administrative acuity.” Because sometimes, you just need someone who can keep the trains running while also, presumably, questioning the very concept of trains.

Here's hoping Yoon’s appointment marks a new, slightly less dramatic, chapter for one of the art world’s most fascinating think tanks.