(Photo: Gregory Holm)

The art world calendars have aligned just so (just like the Mayans predicted they would!), and 2012 brings us both the New Museum Triennial and the Whitney Biennial. The former is in full swing, and the latter opens next Thursday, featuring the work of artists including the late Mike Kelley, Jutta Koether, K8 Hardy, deadpan documentary master Frederick Wiseman, and Liz Deschenes, whose large photograms will “address the architecture” of the Whitney’s Breuer building. You may have not made the shortlists of Biennial curators Elisabeth Sussman and Jay Sanders, but as Hannah Montana once told us, “If things don’t turn out the way you planned / Figure something else out / Don’t stay down, try again!” Translation: get in the Biennial on the coattails of participating artist Michael Clark. The Whitney Museum and Michael Clark Company are seeking volunteers (read: unpaid enthusiasts with a good deal of free time and no formal dance training) to work on a piece of “mass choreographic action” and perform as part of Clark’s latest work for the 2012 Biennial. This project follows Clark’s hugely successful commission for Tate Modern, which also involved a large group of untrained volunteers. Go here for full details, indicate your interest by March 1, and then stock up on leotards!