WhiteBox is a non-profit contemporary art space in New York City founded and directed by Juan Puntes since 1998. Originally established in Chelsea, it later relocated to the Lower East Side, East Harlem, and currently operates in the East Village. WhiteBox hosts exhibitions, performances, video art, and community-focused programs emphasizing social justice, cultural diversity, and inclusive engagement with local and international artists.[1]
The organization was founded by Juan Puntes as an alternative art space for innovative, experimental and thought-provoking contemporary art. It was founded in Philadelphia in 1997, before relocating to Chelsea, New York City in 1998.[2][3]
In 2008, WhiteBox decided to leave Chelsea to move to the Lower East Side, where a few galleries were starting to settle following the opening of the New Museum in the same neighborhood.
In 2018, Mr. Puntes decided to move WhiteBox again and reopen it in East Harlem, one of the largest predominantly Latino communities in New York City. Puentes was particularly interested in collaborating with immigrant and minority communities, especially those from Latin America.
In January 2022 WhiteBox moved to its current location on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Selected Exhibitions and Curators WhiteBox has hosted a wide range of contemporary art exhibitions, often curated by both in-house and guest curators. Below is a selection of exhibitions from 2022 to 2014, including curators and venues when available:
LES - 9 Ave B:
2024 TerraTextl Yohanna M. Roa LES
2024 Lorenzo Pace: WBX Seminal Artist Series Peter Wayne Lewis and Yohanna M. Roa
2023 Liu Xuguang: Dialogue with Arthur C. Danto Ursula Panhans-Bühler
2022 EXODUS VIII: Off the Cloth Karen Cordero Reiman
2022 Women on MAKING Masa Hosojima
2022 Ballots Not Bullets Curated by Raúl Zamudio
2022 WhiteNoise December Schedule Phill Niblock (curator of WhiteNoise program)
Harlem
2020 Aesthetics in the Political Kioko Sato
2016–17 Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Curated by Lara Pan. Co‑curated by Ruben Natal‑San Miguel
LES – Broome St
2015 Anthropological Landscape Curated by Laura Cherubini
2014 Cavellini 1914–2014: A Survey, Events and Mail Art Show Curated by Mark Bloch
2014 Coded After Lovelace Curated by Faith Holland & Nora O’Murchú
2014 China: June 4, 1989 Curated by Robert Lee
2013 Outside In Curated by Barbara Pollack
2013 Beyond the Cloth: The Kafiye Project Curated by Hala A. Malak
2013 Hyman Bloom: Paintings 1940–2005 Curated by Jan Frank
2013 José Pedro Godoy: The Beloved Curated by Yael Rosenblut
2013 World Nomads: Tunisia—The After‑Revolution Curated by Leila Souissi.
2013 Zero Curated By JAN FRANK
2013 Berlése Funnel Curated By ANA C. GARCIA
Mission
Whitebox works to present exhibitions that include the visual arts, experimental media, sound, poetry and video. It is committed to serving as an alternative space in which the general public and artistic community can explore, learn and engage with new ideas.[7]
Events
In 2024, WhiteBox launched End Game, the fifth edition of its quadrennial Presidential Election Exhibition Series. Curated by Ali Hossaini, Anthony Haden‑Guest, Juan Puntes, Yohanna M. Roa, Marat Guelman, Noah Fischer, Raul Zamudio, Stephen Zacks, and Yev Gelman, the show explored themes such as social inequality, immigration, institutional violence, and environmental collapse in relation to the 2024 U.S. presidential election.[8] Earlier that year, TerraTextl (curated by Yohanna M. Roa), Lorenzo Pace: WBX Seminal Artist Series, Another Postcard Here and There: New York ArtScapes, War and Witness: Jon Tsoi, GreenBox Environmental Summer Workshops, and The III Front Window Program demonstrated the institution’s ongoing commitment to experimental, socially engaged art in the Lower East Side.[9]
In late 2023, WhiteBox presented Intersecting Geometries, a group exhibition exploring formal abstraction and spatial inquiry as part of its Seminal Artist Series. From December 2023 to January 2024, the institution also showcased Eldon Garnet: Saved & Drowned: Nature’s Way as Means to an End, an introspective reflection on environmental and existential themes.[10]
In 2022, the organization returned to its Lower East Side roots with Exodus VIII: Off the Cloth, co-curated by Karen Cordero Reiman and Juan Puntes, examining the intersection of cultural resistance and textile-based practices. Other key shows included Women on MAKING (curated by Masa Hosojima), Ballots Not Bullets curated by Raul Zamudio and a December sound-art series under the WhiteNoise program curated by Phill Niblock.[11]
In 2021, at its Harlem venue, WhiteBox presented White Noise, an exhibition of sound, video, poetry, and installation featuring artists such as Jeffrey Lewis, Eva Petrič, V. Matt Sullivan, and Beatrice A. Martino. That November, Perfect Day: Drugs and Art, curated by Raul Zamudio and Juan Puntes, explored the role of substance and healing in art, featuring artists including Abdul Vas, Antonio Caro, Chin Chih Yang, Bradley Eros, Jason Mena, and Javier Téllez, among others.[12]
In 2019, settled into its East Harlem location, White Box-Harlem presented the first mayor survey of Japanese experimental filmmaker Ko Nakajima in New York. Multiple screenings by the artist from the ‘60s to the ‘80s were shown. The exhibition received financial support from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.[13]
In October 2021 an exhibition devoted to sound and multimedia art titled "White Noise" was presented. The show included a diverse group of international artists working on musical performance, video projection, poetry, installation and a live reading and screening of a graphic novel by indie-rocker and social critic, Jeffrey Lewis. Participating artists included Eva Petrič, V. Matt Sullivan and Beatrice A. Martino.[14]
In November 2021 an international group exhibition titled "Perfect Day: Drugs and Art" was presented. It was curated by Raul Zamudio and Juan Puntes. Participating artists included Abdul Vas, Antonio Caro, Chin Chih Yang, Bradley Eros, Jason Mena, Javier Téllez, Julia Justo, Julia San Martin, Lorin Roser, Max Blagg, Nina Kuo, and Tamiko Kawata among others[15]
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