Airing Friday, June 23, at 10 PM ET on PBS, the new episode visits the studios of Guerrilla Girls, Anicka Yi, Tauba Auerbach, and Hank Willis Thomas.

New York, New York (May 25, 2023) – Art21 is excited to announce the premiere of “Bodies of Knowledge,” the second episode in Season 11 of its acclaimed broadcast series Art in the Twenty-First Century on PBS on June 23, 2023, at 10 PM ET. “Bodies of Knowledge” documents the work and processes of Guerrilla Girls, Anicka Yi, Tauba Auerbach, and Hank Willis Thomas. The artists in this hour pilot new ways to understand ourselves and the world at a time when a belief in truth and the historical record is fast eroding.

Viewers will have the opportunity to experience an in-the-moment Guerrilla Girls intervention staged in front of major New York City museums; the creative process behind Hank Willis Thomas’ new public sculpture, The Embrace; Anicka Yi’s flying, AI-controlled “aerobe” machines at the Tate’s Turbine Hall in London; and Tauba Auerbach’s two-person, interdependent pump organ, Auerglass. The artist investigators of “Bodies of Knowledge” shed light on little-known truths about society and its workings, taking deep dives into subjects like the exclusion of women and artists of color from fine art institutions and the hidden math underlying centuries of visual patterning.

“The artists in “Bodies of Knowledge” question how we know what we know,” says Tina Kukielski, Susan Sollins Executive Director and Chief Curator of Art21. “They are truth-seekers, and their art expands our capacity to understand the world and one another.”

“Bodies of Knowledge” will be available through Screening Society, the free global screening program. Art21 provides all the resources needed to host a public screening during the months following the broadcast premiere on PBS. You can learn more at art21.org/screeningsociety.

In celebration of Art in the Twenty-First Century’s Season 11, Art21 is releasing all past seasons of the series on its YouTube channel. Beginning with Season 10, past seasons of the series will premiere on YouTube over the course of 2023. This is the first time Art in the Twenty-First Century will be free and accessible through Youtube. A dual media player on the Art21 website accompanies the premiere of each Season 11 episode, offering a descriptive audio option for the individual artist segments designed to improve accessibility for viewers with vision impairments.

Tune into Art in the Twenty-First Century on PBS on June 23 at 10 PM ET. Check your local PBS station’s schedule to see “Bodies of Knowledge” after its premiere. “Bodies of Knowledge” will be available on Art21.org and across PBS digital streaming platforms beginning in Summer 2023. To learn more, email Art21 Manager of Communications, Hannah DeGarmo, at [email protected].

Major underwriting for Season 11 of Art in the Twenty-First Century is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Lambent Foundation, The Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Toby Devan Lewis, Robert Lehman Foundation, and Nion McEvoy & Leslie Berriman.

About Art21

Art21 is the world’s leading source to learn directly from the artists of our time. A nonprofit organization, the mission of Art21 is to educate and expand access to contemporary art, producing documentary films, resources, and public programs. Learn more at Art21.org.

Press Contact

Hannah DeGarmo
Manager of Communications, Art21
[email protected]