Whitney Museum Appoints Soyoung Yoon as New ISP Director After Suspension

Soyoung Yoon has been named the new director of the Whitney Museum of American Art's Independent Study Program (ISP), following a year-long suspension triggered by the cancellation of a Palestine-related performance. Yoon, a former Critical Studies fellow (2006–07) and regular visiting faculty, takes over after the museum terminated associate director Sara Nadal-Melsió amid controversy. The ISP, founded in 1968 by Ron Clark, is a tuition-free program for artists, curators, and critics with alumni including Jenny Holzer, LaToya Ruby Frazier, and Glenn Ligon. The crisis began when the Whitney canceled the 2024–25 Curatorial Studies fellows' staging of "No Aesthetic Outside My Freedom: Mourning, Militancy, and Performance" by Noel Maghathe, Fadl Fakhouri, and Fargo Tbakhi, citing community guidelines after a recording showed Tbakhi asking audience members who "believe in Israel" to leave. Hundreds of alumni signed an open letter accusing the museum of censorship. The museum suspended the ISP for 2025–26, stating it was "without a Director." Yoon recently served on a 15-member advisory committee shaping the ISP's future. She holds a PhD in art history from Stanford and has taught at Purchase College, the New School, and Parsons School of Design.