Prospect does not accept unsolicited portfolios from artists. Prospect’s staff is very small and we are not equipped to regularly review portfolios and provide feedback.

Artists are selected for inclusion in the Prospect triennial exhibition by the Artistic Director(s). The Artistic Director(s) make artist selections after conducting approximately a year and a half of studio visits. The selection process occurs in consultation with a committee of curatorial advisors that each AD appoints to consult with them as well as with Prospect staff. It should be noted that every Artistic Director is very different in how they determine that an artist will be invited to participate in Prospect. For some, it can be an illuminating studio visit, for some it may be knowledge of recent bodies of work, for some it may be how an artist’s practice aligns with a particular theme being explored in the exhibition.

Prospect selects Artistic Directors (ADs) in consultation with all of the former Prospect Artistic Directors. Each past AD nominates a field of candidates, which is then refined in conversation with a board committee. Candidates are then invited to visit New Orleans and to deliver a presentation to Prospect’s board on how they might approach the exhibition.

Venues are selected by Prospect’s curatorial and exhibition staff in close collaboration with the Artistic Directors and Prospect artists. There are several different venue types that we generally seek: institutional spaces, exterior or public spaces, and unique venues that illuminate the history, neighborhoods, and character of the city.

Each exhibition has a different makeup of venues and we always welcome recommendations at info@prospectneworleans.org

Our colleagues at the Ogden Museum and the Contemporary Arts Center each produce excellent large annual group exhibitions that consist exclusively of local or regional artists. The Ogden’s is called Louisiana Contemporary; the CAC’s is titled Gulf South Open Call. Prospect selects both regional and international artists because we feel that there is value in welcoming artists from the rest of the world into conversation with the city, its artists, and arts ecosystem – and vice versa. New Orleans artists have been prominently included in every Prospect and will continue to be. Artists from the region usually make up approximately 20% of the list of artists.

Prospect’s approach to programming is always to work in collaboration rather than alone. With each programmatic decision we make, we first ask ourselves: is anyone else doing this work locally and is there opportunity for partnership? We welcome collaborations and partnerships with local vendors, culture bearers, community organizations, and arts-focused institutions.

Please feel free to send any programming/collaboration inquiries to info@prospectneworleans.org

Prospect’s budget size is approximately $1,400,000 annually for staff, programming, marketing, organizational expenses, and the triennial. By New Orleans standards, this makes us a mid-sized organization; by national standards we are quite small.

Since 2020 Prospect has been a member of an informal consortium of North American bi/triennials that now calls itself the Ennials Alliance. We play a leadership role within the alliance, we share information, we support each other, and we visit each other’s exhibitions when we can. 

No, Prospect is entirely based in New Orleans. Prospect’s founder Dan Cameron lived in New York City at the time of founding the organization; during Prospect’s inception phase, the organization briefly kept an office space in New York, but this has not been the case since Prospect.2. Our exhibitions and operations are New Orleans-based and focused and our staff is primarily in New Orleans, although some of us are based elsewhere.

When Prospect was founded it was given the formal name of US Biennial, Inc. Initially, Dan Cameron suspected that a biennial that roved from place to place each iteration (much like Manifesta in Europe) could illuminate the many American artmaking communities that don’t receive enough attention. However, following Prospect.1, the decision was made to keep New Orleans as the permanent home of Prospect.

We are currently hard at work on our Artists of Public Memory initiative, a series of public art commissions for Louisiana artists to create examples of how monuments or collective memories can appear in public space. Later this year we will also unfold a revamped strategy for programming that furthers our work done in collaboration with local K-12 schools and universities, local community and arts-focused institutions, and local businesses.

Historically, no, although we’re happy to hear ideas and to make references to artists and our colleagues.

The Prospectors Club are the most involved and engaged supporters of Prospect New Orleans. Prospectors meet approximately quarterly to share recent developments, to celebrate artists and curators, and to see art together.

We’re also reachable through info@prospectneworleans.org.