If I could use one word to describe the newest ongoing exhibit at the Whitney Museum, it would be Abundance. Edges of Ailey, running from September 25, 2024, to February 9, 2025, is the newest installation at the Whitney Museum of American Art in Chelsea. The large-scale, immersive show fits perfectly into seasonal themes of change, community, and gratitude, shedding light on the life and art of renowned choreographer and activist Alvin Ailey (1931-1989) and his surrounding constituents.
Alvin Ailey saw dance beyond what currently existed in the traditional status quo. His achievements and reformations in modern dance reflect this belief in the liberating potential of the practice, in its interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary impact, and in its indiscriminatory universality that resonated with diverse demographics. The choreographer and dancer materialized a distinct living history of movement, an oeuvre infused with cultural and personal remembrance. In both his own individually choreographed works and those of his company, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Black, American, and queer narratives embodied conduits used to cultivate motifs grounded in the human condition.
A life lived through dance and collaboration
The exhibition is divided into two main sections: one that highlights Ailey’s life and work and another that presents artworks directly inspired by or related to his legacy. Together, they converse with and enrich each other, coming together to offer a more nuanced portrait of American culture, its complexities, and its artistic heritage. A central feature of the exhibit is an 18-screen video projection showcasing a range of Ailey’s performances, accompanied by original scores by Kya Lou and Josh Begley. Videos of musicians, dancers, and choreographers who influenced Ailey, such as Katherine Dunham, Maya Deren, and Duke Ellington, further enrich the experience, providing historical context for Ailey’s groundbreaking work.
A deeply personal perspective
However, the most powerful part of the exhibition—one that stands out even amidst artworks by blockbuster artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat—is the opportunity to intimately connect with Ailey’s personal life through his meticulously preserved journals, letters, and other ephemera. Known for his habit of documenting his life in detail, Ailey’s notebooks offer a rare, unfiltered look into his world. For instance, a somber, stark entry from 1980 simply reads, “nervous breakdown, 7 wks in hosp.” There is profound pain in the shortness of this message, one that transcends marking on the page. Such reflections speak to his emotional and mental struggles. They show his humanity: Alvin Ailey, despite his creative and social influence, was not an untouchable, glorified martyr. He was an artist, but he was also a man and, before that, a boy.
Ailey’s childhood in rural Texas during the Great Depression, raised by his single mother after his father abandoned the family, deeply shaped his artistic vision. His family’s struggle to survive—including his early experience picking cotton at the age of five—provided him with a strong connection to the realities of Southern Black life. These incidents lingered with him long into his career and artistically manifested in different ways. In fact, his most seminal work, appropriately titled Revelations, notably draws from his early religious encounters: memories rooted in the gospel, blues, and religious music that surrounded him as a child are reimagined into potent expressions of suffering, longing, and reclamation.
Ailey started his career in dance after he moved with his mother to Los Angeles in 1941 as part of the Great Migration. From his humble beginnings as a student to his eventual status as an internationally acclaimed choreographer, Ailey’s journey was one of perseverance, innovation, and neverending transformation. This exhibition at the Whitney not only pays tribute to his historic legacy but also acts as a testament to how Ailey’s work continues to inspire new generations to this day, in the realm of dance and beyond.
Given that the Whitney Museum is free for all visitors under 25 for the next few years, I hope that this show of abundance reaches audiences throughout New York City and beyond. There is a lot to be learned from the striking works on display on the upper floors of this Chelsea museum, ones that speak to love and loss, struggle and liberation, resilience and catharsis. What Edges of Ailey produces is a deeply moving portrait of a born-to-be performer who drew inspiration from all the people and forces that surrounded him: his upbringing, his dreams, and everything in between.
