On November 1, a major art event will begin all over the city of New Orleans. Prospect.1 is the culmination of founding director and chief curator Dan Cameron's vision that art can heal.
After the Storm
The desolation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans is a well-known story, and many people and organizations have labored to bring the city back to life. Dan Cameron believed that New Orleans is like Venice, a treasure trove of cultural riches, and he aimed to reclaim it for the world. Cameron is an internationally recognized curator of contemporary art, who has organized art biennials in such places as Taipei and Istanbul. The result of his hard work and expertise is Prospect.1, the largest international contemporary art biennial ever organized in the United States.
Prospect.1
There are 81 artists displaying their creative impressions over about 100,000 total feet of space. The sheer magnitude of the project dictated that many sites would have to be used. Prospect.1 has dozens of venues all over the city. The Contemporary Arts Center, the Old U.S. Mint on Esplanade, Harrah's Casino, and the Historic New Orleans Collection are some of the more familiar venues for exhibits. Perhaps more unexpected are places like the Universal Furniture builing on St. Claude Avenue, the Lower Ninth Ward Village, or Ideal Auto Repair downtown on Girod Street.
Just a few of the participating artists are Takashi Horisaki, Gajin Fujita, Janine Antoni, Anne Deleporte, El Anatsui, Leandro Erlich, Arturo Herrera--the list goes on.
Some Exhibits
Mark Bradford has created a Noah's ark, literally as big as a house, and is made of plywood taken from old building sites. A "light-drawing" creates a house frame at night in Wangechi Mutu's "Miss Sarah's House." Srdjan Loncar will "sculpt" a pile of "money" at the Old Mint. Paul Villinski created an "Emergency Response Studio" from a discarded FEMA trailer. Murals, paintings, photographs, performance art--all manner of artistic expression from all over the world will be yours for a time in New Orleans.
Event Details
All exhibits are free to the public, but you must obtain a ticket available at certain of the sites. Because of the far-flung nature of the biennial,complimentary shuttle service is available to all visitors from 10:45 am-5:45 pm. It opens on November 1 and will continue through January 18, 2009.
Venues all over the city
The art venues are all over the city. Here's a complete list.
Most of the venues are open until 6 pm, but you should check on the website for more specific information.
