THIS MORNING, Prospect New Orleans announced that Prospect.5 has been postponed by one year. The forthcoming citywide contemporary art triennial was scheduled to open this fall and, due to the COVID-19 virus, it has been delayed by one year. The new dates are Oct. 23, 2021-Jan. 23, 2022.
Prospect.5 is the latest major art gathering to be canceled, postponed, or recalibrated in the wake of the novel coronavirus. In a statement, the organizers said the “regretful decision to postpone has been made in solidarity with the city of New Orleans’ efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, and in accordance with social-distancing measures nationwide.”
Naima J. Keith and Diana Nawi are co-artistic directors of Prospect.5, which is themed “Yesterday we said tomorrow.” The 49 artists and two collectives participating in Prospect.5 were just announced in early March. The artist list includes Kevin Beasley, Dawoud Bey, Willie Birch, Mark Bradford, Beverly Buchanan, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Karon Davis, Simone Leigh, Glenn Ligon, and Naudline Pierre. More than 60 percent of the artists are black and nearly 20 percent live and work in New Orleans.
The “regretful decision to postpone has been made in solidarity with the city of New Orleans’ efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, and in accordance with social-distancing measures nationwide.”
“Prospect New Orleans was originally born out of a crisis—a time of hardship and coming together. We’re a nimble and resilient organization. We’re well equipped to think quickly and improvisationally about how to handle this,” Nick Stillman, executive director of Prospect New Orleans, said in a statement.
“While we regret having to postpone, we’re optimistic about the future. We also know this is the right decision for our artists, our staff, and for the city.” CT
TOP IMAGE: Marigny Opera House. | Photo by Pompo Bresciani, Courtesy Prospect New Orleans
FIND MORE about Prospect.5 on Culture Type here and here
BOOKSHELF
Catalogs have been produced to document each cycle of Prospect New Orleans. “Prospect.1: New Orleans” and “Prospect.2: New Orleans,” were organized by Dan Cameron. Now director of Pérez Art Museum Miami, Frankin Sirmans served as artistic director of “Prospect.3: Notes for Now.” The most recent edition, “Prospect.4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp,” was led by Trevor Schoonmaker, who was recently named director of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.
