Prospect.2 Biennial Set to Open This Fall
October 22, 2011 - January 29, 2012
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"The Devil Made Me"
Joyce J. Scott
Courtesy of Goya Contemporary, MD
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"Below Sea Level"
Pawel Wojtasik |
Prospect New Orleans, the premiere biennial of international contemporary art in the United States, is entering its final month. This is the last chance for art lovers and everyone else to view these works of art that are spread throughout the city. The show, which opened on October 22, 2011, will close on Sunday, January 29, 2012.
The works of 27 artists, representing nine countries and four continents are on display in more than a dozen indoor and outdoor locations throughout the Crescent City, some of which are free and easily in public view.
Following up on the success of the Prospect.1 art exhibit three years ago, the new exhibit showcases recent art from around the world in a setting that is both historic and culturally unique. Prospect New Orleans contributes to the revitalization of New Orleans by bringing international attention to the city's visual arts community. Organized under the auspices of U.S. Biennial, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in New York with offices in New Orleans, Prospect.1 was held from November 2008 through January 2009, and was the U.S. Biennial's first project.
As a biennial, Prospect 2 originally envisioned opening in 2010 but current economic conditions and decreases in funding for the arts nationally, forced the postponement of Prospect.2 by one year.
The Vision
Conceived in the tradition of the great international biennials, such as the Venice Biennale and the Bienal de São Paulo (Brazil), Prospect New Orleans was founded on the principle that the art of our time can play a significant role in the revitalization of an important U.S. city. As it evolves into a local tradition with each subsequent Prospect New Orleans, the biennial remains committed to building a contemporary art tourism infrastructure upon a signature event that galvanizes local art creation and entrepreneurial activity, while attracting tens of thousands of art lovers to New Orleans every-other-year.
By assigning social progress and aesthetic criteria nearly equal weight in the making of Prospect.1, the fundamentally educational message that was implicit in that first biennial is receiving a similar degree of attention in Prospect.2. This focus continues to be developed as part of the direct, ongoing collaboration with the residents, neighborhoods and institutions of New Orleans.
In its inaugural year, Prospect.1 New Orleans featured 81 artists who exhibited at 24 venues throughout the city, occupying a combined 200,000 square feet of space spread widely over miles of the city's eclectic and historic neighborhoods. During its three-month run, Prospect.1 attracted 42,000 individual visitors (88,000 admissions), generating over $23 million in economic activity.
Dan Cameron, founder of Prospect New Orleans, is a widely recognized art museum curator and exhibition organizer. Some of his past credits include the biennials of Istanbul, Turkey and Taipei, Taiwan.
Exhibiting Artists and Venues
Prospect.2's current list of artists includes 27 artists from nine countries, including the United States, France, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Japan, Chile, and Vietnam. In keeping with Prospect's commitment to the promotion of the visual art community in New Orleans, this year's biennial features work by several artists who live and work in the city, as well as a variety of site-specific projects inspired by the city's distinctive history and culture and conceived specifically for the city of New Orleans.
The following artists will be exhibiting their work in Prospect.2 (nationalities are in parentheses):
- Sophie Calle (France)
- Nick Cave (USA)
- Jonas Dahlberg (Sweden)
- Bruce Davenport Jr. (USA)
- Dawn Dedeaux (USA)
- R. Luke DuBois (USA)
- George Dunbar (USA)
- Keith Duncan (USA)
- William Eggleston (USA)
- Nicole Eisenman (France)
- Karl Haendel (USA)
- Ragnar Kjartansson (Iceland)
- William Pope (USA)
- An-My Lê (Vietnam)
- Ivan Navarro (Chile)
- Lorraine O'Grady (USA)
- Tsuyoshi Ozawa (Japan)
- Gina Phillips (USA)
- Ashton T. Ramsey (USA)
- Alexis Rockman (USA)
- Joyce J. Scott (USA)
- Jennifer Steinkamp (USA)
- Dan Tague (USA)
- Robert Tannen (USA)
- Grazia Toderi (Italy)
- Francesco Vezzoli (Italy)
- Pawel Wojtasik (Poland)
In addition to the projects organized by Prospect.2, a number of artists, including Canadian sculptor Michel de Broin, environmental artist Brandon Ballengee, and Seattle-based Don and Patricia Fels, are developing major new projects that will premiere simultaneously in New Orleans.
Participating Venues
Works will be shown at sites throughout several different neighborhoods and other locales in New Orleans, including:
- Tremé
- 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
- UNO St. Claude Gallery
For more information on Prospect.2 New Orleans, visit www.prospectneworleans.org or contact U.S. Biennial, Inc. at (212) 680-5305 or info@prospectneworleans.org. |
