A chunk of the Houston art world has fled to New Orleans this weekend for the opening of Prospect.1 New Orleans, which is apparently a very big deal. Organizers say the brand-new art fair is “the largest biennial of international contemporary art ever organized in the United States…conceived in the tradition of the great international biennials.” To which we say: dang.
A jaunt down I-10, and you too can check out an enormous amount of art – by 81 artists in schools, churches, art spaces and other venues such as an Ideal Auto Repair Shop. It all kicks off tomorrow, but the art will be on view for a few months.
Prospect.1 is projected to bring around 50,000 visitors to New Orleans. Why N.O.? Apparently the international art community wants to do something nice for the city by bringing cultural riches – and coin – into the city. Some of the artists are local; some are not.
If you like seeing art, this is your chance to see an “exhibition on a scale that has never been attempted before in the U.S.” Leave right now and you can see Mayor Nagin cut the ribbon for this mammoth show tomorrow at eleven, followed by a parade with Rebirth Brass Band, and the opening of all the art shows at noon.
– Cathy Matusow
This article appears in Jul 13, 2007 – Jul 7, 2011.