Prospect.5 New Orleans, a citywide contemporary art triennial and the only exhibition of its kind in the US with a decade-long history, will open at multiple galleries, museums and other exhibit spaces over the course of three weekends beginning October 23.
Curated by Artistic Directors Naima J. Keith and Diana Nawi, Prospect.5: Yesterday we said tomorrow features more than 50 artists in over 15 venues throughout New Orleans and will include newly commissioned works alongside the work of historically significant artists. P.5 will investigate how history informs the present—particularly in relation to New Orleans, a uniquely American city that embodies so many urgent issues of today, but which remains deeply invested in and subject to its recent and historical past. Taking the city as a mandate, this exhibition will examine history as both document and fiction, exploring the idea that our moment feels both unprecedented and familiar.
The initial wave of openings will take place on October 23 with subsequent openings slated for October 30 and November 6. Prospect.5 will remain on view through January 23, 2022. Venues will include the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Amistad Research Center, Crescent Park, the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC), and New Orleans African American Museum (NOAAM), which will also serve as the Hancock Whitney Welcome Center—the main hub of visitor experience for the triennial.
Opening festivities begin with a performance on the morning of October 23 at The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC), where author, scholar, and curator Josh Kun will explore the legacy of the 8th Cavalry Mexican Military Band at the 1884 World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial in New Orleans. Following Kun’s opening, a tour of George Dureau’s photographs and new works by Dawoud Bey ill take place at the Tricentennial Wing of THNOC. Large-scale group presentations will open at the Newcomb Art Museum on Tulane University’s campus, and Contemporary Arts Center, where Prospect.5 will occupy the entirety of the museum’s galleries. Newcomb features a major presentation of work by acclaimed sculptor Barbara Chase-Riboud, a touchstone for the exhibition, and new work by New Orleans-based artists Ron Bechet, Mimi Lauter and Naudline Pierre, and a 40-foot new mural piece by collage artist Elliott Hundley.
The CAC will display the work of 17 intergenerational artists working across many media, including Laura Aguilar, Felipe Baeza, Kevin Beasley, Karon Davis, Kiki Smith, and Carlos Villa, as well as major new works by Mark Bradford, Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, Cosmo Whyte and others.
The CAC and Prospect New Orleans will host an opening night party on Saturday, October 23, 2021 from 7 p.m. to midnight, featuring music by Innerversions (formerly DJ Chinua) and DJ Legatron Prime with local food trucks, libations, and more. Admission is free with an advance reservation. Proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of attending the CAC is required for admission. Masks are required at all times when not actively eating or drinking. For more information, visit cacno.org.
October 30 will be anchored by openings at the NOAAM, featuring new commissions from Paul Stephen Benjamin, who is creating a new sculptural work that references the history of the museum and the neighborhood of Treme. Dineo Seshee Bopape will exhibit an animated-video work, and Kameelah Janan Rasheed will show a related project at NOAAM and the Amistad Research Center, which will open the same day. The third Saturday opening, on November 6, will feature an open house at four Bywater venues, including UNO Gallery, where a video installation by Jamilah Sabur and new body of sculptures Candice Lin will be on view; Happyland Theater, which will feature two video works by Rodney McMillian; 3162 Dauphine Street showing Sharon Hayes’s newly commissioned project; and Crescent Park where Wangechi Mutu’s large-scale bronze work will be sited. In the evening, Ogden Museum of Southern Art will host a reception to celebrate the opening of projects by artists including Willie Birch, Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, and Neighborhood Story Project, as well as new works by Jennie C. Jones and Glenn Ligon in the historic Ogden Library.
A new three-channel work by Tiona Nekkia McClodden will open at Xavier University Art Gallery, and new projects by Phoebe Boswell, EJ Hill and returning Prospect.1 artist Nari Ward will open this fall across the city; Adriana Corral’s project will take shape over the course of the exhibition, and a new, public sculpture by Simone Leigh will be unveiled in early January. Interactive projects by Cooking Sections and Malcolm Peacock will be available to experience by signing up online. Prospect will remain on view until January 23, 2022. The Prospect 5. Gala, originally planned for October 21–24, has been postponed until January 2022.
The following is a list of participating venues, artists, and opening dates.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23
Contemporary Art Center New Orleans (900 Camp Street): Laura Aguilar, Keni Anwar, Felipe Baeza, Kevin Beasley, Phoebe Boswell, Mark Bradford, Jamal Cyrus, Karon Davis, ektor garcia, Sky Hopinka, Dave McKenzie, Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, Hương Ngô, EricPaul Riege, Kiki Smith, Carlos Villa, Cosmo Whyte
Capdeville Place Park (2701 DeSoto Street): Anastasia Pelias
Newcomb Art Museum (Woldenberg Art Center, Newcomb Circle on the campus of Tulane University): Ron Bechet, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Elliott Hundley, Mimi Lauter, Naudline Pierre The Historic New Orleans Collection Dawoud Bey, George Dureau, Josh Kun
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30
Amistad Research Center (Tilton Hall, Tulane University campus, 6823 St. Charles Avenue): Kameelah Janan Rasheed
New Orleans African American Museum (1418 Governor Nicholls Street): Paul Stephen Benjamin, Dineo Seshee Bopape, Kameelah Janan Rasheed
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6
3162 Dauphine Street: Sharon Hayes
Crescent Park (2300 N. Peters Street): Wangechi Mutu
Happyland Theater (3126 Burgundy Street): Rodney McMillian
Ogden Museum of Southern Art (925 Camp Street): Katrina Andry, Willie Birch, Beverly Buchanan, Jennie C. Jones, Tau Lewis, Glenn Ligon
Neighborhood Story Project (2202 Lapeyrouse Street): Jennifer Packer, Welmon Sharlhorne
