Dan Cameron on Prospect.1

Prospect.2 Artistic Director Dan Cameron responds to a recent viewpoint by art writer Brianna Smyk about the biennial that opened in New Orleans last week. For that article, please click here.

Here is Dan Cameron’s response:

“Absolutely nobody in New Orleans in 2008 was upset by Prospect.1, which attracted more than 40,000 visitors, broke attendance records at nearly every venue, received the most national and international press of any art exhibition in New Orleans’ history, galvanized the art community, and had a direct economic impact for the city of more than $23 million dollars.

“In addition, 87% of P.1’s budget (before it closed in Jan 2009) was raised outside of Louisiana, and more than 95% of the funds raised to retire the debt in 2009-10 came from non-Louisiana sources, and all of these private funds were raised by myself and my colleagues. Despite our success in transforming this city into a contemporary art destination overnight, the City of New Orleans has supplied no funding whatsoever to our organization in its five years of existence. All New Orleans vendors were paid within a few months of the biennial closing.

“Finally, the entire New Orleans art world celebrated Prospect.1 from beginning to end. Now that Prospect.2, which raised approximately 93% of its funds outside Louisiana, has had an especially successful opening last weekend, we are eagerly anticipating tens of thousands of art-loving visitors between now and January 29.”

Dan Cameron is founder and Artistic Director of Prospect.2.