“Prospect.4: Lotus in Spite of the Swamp” – a citywide exhibition in New Orleans.
On Wednesday Prospect New Orleans, led by Artistic Director Trevor Schoonmaker at New York’s Ace Hotel, announced the 70 participating artists for the show’s highly anticipated November 18 opening in New Orleans. Prospect.4 is a part of the Curators Perspective series, and is a collaboration between the Independent Curators International (ICI) and Vera List Center for Art and Politics.
The lotus flower is the icon of the show as its particular qualities remind us of art’s truest importance – to reveal an intrinsic beauty “in spite” of a muddy, fetid, and overlooked environment. Its unmatched grace is a constant symbol of challenges overcome, a beacon of knowledge and experience, and the potential of a hidden treasure within – qualities that this show shall honor with its vibrant displays of spectacular artistic achievement.
The international collection of artists to be featured in the triennial have each uniquely addressed issues of identity, displacement and cultural evolution within the context of New Orleans Tricentennial. Prospect.4 will blend into the cityscape with 17 venues and sites that range from major museums to public locations with such events as multimedia installations, music, film, painting and more.
It is as much a civic adventure as much as it is an artistic experiment, as the show will present a diverse group of local, national, and international artists alike. Prospect New Orleans Interim Director Ylva Rouse says: “So many of the artists have created projects that resonate deeply with the City’s unique history, culture, people, and institutions…” The show will be essentially tailored to this great American city and spectators shall be delighted by the variety of distinctive events and performances they will be able to see.
This cross-cultural mix of artists is the very essence of the richly fertilized and saturated marshlands that make up major parts of Louisiana – from which triumphs the Lotus. New Orleans especially has served as a melting pot for some of the most powerful artistic turns in American history and continues today with Prospect New Orleans. The show seeks to resonate with the city’s unique musical, aesthetic, cultural, spiritual, historical, and environmental perspectives – all of which shall soon unite in an experience surely to be remembered.
