Prospect.2 New Orleans: Celebrating Art and Social Progress

It’s fall in New Orleans! The air is crisp and clean, our windows and doors are wide open, and our social calendars are bursting with events and commitments. This October, there’s more than ever to be excited about, because the long-awaited art biennial, Prospect.2 New Orleans, originally slated to begin in 2010, will be opening at the end of this month.

If you haven’t heard of Prospect New Orleans, here is a little background: renowned curator Dan Cameron came up with the idea in 2006, after visiting a post-Katrina New Orleans and hearing the local artists express frustration with the slow pace of rebuilding. The project was founded on the concept that art can play a major role in revitalizing an American city. Prospect New Orleans is now one of the leading biennials of international contemporary art in the U.S. and helps not only to highlight new artistic practices, but also to support the local community and bring national and international attention to the dynamic artistic community here in New Orleans. Many of the exhibits are offered completely admission-free to the general public.

Prospect.1 ran in 2008 and featured 81 artists at 24 venues in New Orleans, ultimately attracting 88,000 admissions and generating over $23 million in economic activity. Last year, as a sort of preview to this year, Prospect 1.5 was launched, running for 15 weeks and showcasing 50 artists across 12 venues.

This month, Prospect.2 New Orleans begins on October 22, running until January 29, 2012. The project is kicked off by two preview days (October 20-21). This year’s Prospect will be a smaller, more locally focused event than its predecessor. Prospect.2 has a lineup of 27 artists, including at least 7 from New Orleans: Bruce Davenport Jr., Dawn DeDeaux, George Dunbar, William Eggleston, Gina Phillips, Dan Tague, and Robert Tannen. Together, the 27 artists represent a total of 9 different countries: US, France, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Japan, Chile, Iceland and Vietnam.

I was particularly excited to learn about one of the kick-off events, The Marigny Parade, presented by R. Luke Dubois. 350 musicians from local high school and middle school marching bands will be performing as five separate groups, eventually meeting in Washington Square for a finale and culminating with the Prospect.2 ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially designate the opening of the event. I am definitely looking forward to this since my favorite part of Mardi Gras is seeing all the bands perform!

Participating districts include: Treme, St. Claude Avenue, The Warehouse Arts District, City Park, Tulane University, Xavier University, New Orleans Museum of Art, Isaac Delgado Art Gallery, Arts Village, New Orleans African American Museum, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Contemporary Arts Center, Newcomb Art Gallery, and UNO St. Claude Gallery.

I hope to see you out among the crowds during this year’s Prospect event. We are definitely witnessing history in the making by being on the ground floor of such a project, and I have high hopes that Prospect New Orleans will continue for many years and become a symbol of the New Orleans art community.

For more information on Prospect.2 New Orleans, to purchase preview tickets, or for complete lists of funding organizations, donor information, artists and venues, please visit their official website, call (212) 680-5305, or e-mail [email protected]

Tagged as: Dan Cameron, GoNOLA, international art exhibit, New Orleans art, Prospect 2 New Orleans, Prospect New Orleans, Things to do in New Orleans