NEW ORLEANS – Prospect New Orleans announced the debut of its legacy initiative, an artistic and cultural archives project that celebrates the organization’s 20th anniversary and honors its history of collaboration with artists and institutions. This milestone will be marked by a new publication, 20 Years of Prospect, which is set to debut in Spring 2027 and documents Prospect’s enduring impact and evolution both locally and globally.
Organizers share this moment represents a transition in the organization’s approach to exhibition-making and public programming. As one of the longest-running triennials in the nation, Prospect shares it has consistently adapted in response to local dynamics and global discourse. Following the success of Prospect.6, the most recent edition of the citywide triennial, the organization is now shifting its focus to explore and adopt new sustainable models for presenting global artistic discourse, while creating an archive of its past work and lasting impact on the community. In place of a succeeding triennial, this legacy initiative will reflect on Prospect’s achievements over the past 20 years, documenting its relationship with New Orleans, its cultural institutions, local venues, artists, and curators.
“With this new legacy initiative, the organization aims to further preserve and chronicle the achievements and profound impact of Prospect both locally and globally,” said Christopher J. Alfieri, prospect President & Board Chairman. “An exhibition catalogue cannot adequately convey the influence Prospect’s Artistic Directors and artists have had on New Orleans and the global art world. This legacy project allows us to pause and look back at the last 20 years, bridging the historical record and highlighting the enduring influence of the most talented curators and artists making work today. The instinct to preserve and illuminate the triennial’s past feels especially relevant and important at a time in our history when so much is being erased.”
Prospect was founded in 2007 by curator Dan Cameron, who envisioned a new model for a seminal exhibition that addressed the absence of a large-scale international biennial or triennial in the United States, while also establishing a platform for contemporary art that connected local communities with international voices. When the exhibition opened in 2008, it was the largest biennial of international contemporary art ever organized in the nation’s history and one of the most influential exhibitions ever showcased in New Orleans.
Positioned in a city with a deep cultural history and global significance, Prospect has been a significant feature of New Orleans’ cultural calendar and within the global ’ennial schedule. Since its founding, the triennial has generated more than $11 million in total economic impact and $800,000 in municipal and state tax revenue, setting a standard for large-scale presentation formats. The organization established a regional model for citywide exhibitions, anchoring New Orleans as an active voice on the international arts stage and driving critical discourse around how artists engage entire cities, regions, and the communities within them.
Over two decades, the triennial has inspired artistic directors, curators and artists such as Franklin Sirmans (Prospect.3), Trevor Schoonmaker (Prospect.4), Naima J. Keith and Diana Nawi (Prospect.5), Ebony G. Patterson and Miranda Lash (Prospect.6). Prospect has offered hundreds of artists the opportunity to create some of their most expansive, large-scale, and boundary-pushing works—featuring a range of artists with deep local roots and global acclaim, like Kevin Beasley, Willie Birch, Nick Cave, Mel Chin, Keith Duncan, rafa esparza, L. Kasimu Harris, EJ Hill, Cathy Lu, Ruth Owens, William Pope.L, and Kara Walker.
“During this moment when arts organizations are particularly imperiled, it feels crucial for Prospect to step back rather than jump right into another exhibition cycle,” said Nick Stillman, former Prospect executive director. “Instead, Prospect’s current focus is on preserving the history of this incredible organization, especially as it approaches its 20th anniversary.”
The new publication, 20 Years of Prospect, will be a celebration of Prospect’s role as a cultural beacon. It will be a singular showcase for the ambitious projects that have defined Prospect’s past while also capturing never-before-seen imagery and ephemera of past triennial iterations and a personal archive from founder Dan Cameron. Along with a forward co-written by Stillman and Alfieri, the publication will feature interviews with former Artistic Directors on their memories and impressions of their respective triennial cycles, and conversations with past Prospect artists about some of the most notable, visible, and impactful works in the triennial’s history.
Taken together, the legacy initiative marks both a culmination and a new beginning, offering an opportunity to reflect on Prospect’s far-reaching influence and celebrate its ongoing contribution to the local and global arts landscape.
Prospect would not be possible without the generous support of individuals, foundations, and corporations. Individuals and organizations are able to directly support the organization and its mission through donations. For more information on the legacy initiative or to support, please visit Prospect’s website.