NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Prospect New Orleans announced the venue list and programming highlights for Prospect.6: The Future Is Present, The Harbinger Is Home, which debuts to the public on Nov. 2 and remains on view through Feb. 2, 2025.
This year marks the sixth edition of the citywide triennial, offering an array of free public programming in collaboration with local New Orleans organizations and Prospect.6 artists. These programs and presentations will take place across a multitude of spaces and neighborhoods throughout New Orleans, from historical and cultural venues to outdoor and public spaces.
P.6 participating venues include: 5523 Saint Claude Avenue, Algiers Point, Alone Time Gallery, The Batture, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans (CAC), Ford Motor Plant, Hancock Whitney Welcome Center at Merchant House, Harmony Circle, The Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC), Music Box Village, New Orleans African American Museum (NOAAM), New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) and Press Street Railroad Yard, New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden Pavilion, Newcomb Art Museum, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, The Peristyle at City Park, Sweet Lorraine’s Jazz Club, UNO St. Claude Gallery, Xavier University of Louisiana Art Gallery and Art Village.
Showcasing major artistic presentations from 51 renowned artists, P.6 will delve into the concept of “home” within the context of New Orleans’s unique cultural, geographical, and environmental identity. Shaped by influences from similarly interconnected global regions, such as Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, South America and Europe. This year’s triennial prompts an exploration of the city’s cultural breadths and social histories in relation to its global footprint.
Among the various installations of P.6 artists, Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn, Christian Việt Ðinh, and Tuan Mami will debut new commissions that explore the enduring legacy of Vietnamese immigration to the Gulf South. At Xavier Art Gallery, Mami’s installation, Seeding the Future(Vietnamese Immigrating Garden Project), invites the public to join elders from the New Orleans’s Vietnamese community in sharing stories and creating seed pods—symbols of hope for those separated from their homeland and culture. During Opening Weekend on November 2 at the Ogden Museum’s Hayden Library, Nguyễn will debut Quietly Amongst the Disquiet, a new film and live performance presented with a “living soundtrack” by Thảo Nguyễn and produced in New Orleans by Marion Hoàng Ngọc Hill and a vibrant team of local collaborators. The film will also appear at NOMA’s Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden Pavilion throughout the duration of the triennial. During Closing Weekend, at VIET (Vietnamese Initiatives in Economic Training), Đinh will stage Reverence to the Refugee, a performance and royal Vietnamese-inspired banquet honoring community leaders in New Orleans East. These three powerful works debut alongside the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, grounding their narratives in a timely reflection on displacement and resilience. The historical context amplifies the emotional depth of the pieces as they premiere in New Orleans.
Another standout feature of P.6 is a new large-scale installation by artist Raúl de Nieves, that will be debuting at Harmony Circle during Opening Weekend. De Nieves’s installation and programming is sponsored by 1800 Tequila. Inspired by Catholic iconography and New Orleans’s Carnival culture, this work reimagines the site’s geographic centrality, symbolizing a new beginning while paying homage to New Orleans’s rich cultural heritage. The installation will debut during the Opening Weekend, accompanied by the activation Love Burst with performances by the drag wrestling collective Chokehole, the Edna Karr High School Marching Band, and multimedia artist Antonio Garza.
Alongside artistic activations and new installations, the P.6 Opening Weekend will also offer a dynamic lineup of talks and panels featuring an intergenerational selection of presenting artists, providing insights into the intersections of career and artistic practice. Highlights include discussions with the Susan BrennanCo-Artistic Directors, Miranda Lash and Ebony G. Patterson presented by frieze and moderated by frieze Senior Editor Terence Trouillot and a panel featuring P.6 artists Hannah Chalew, Mel Chin, Christopher Cozier, and Tessa Mars.
As part of this Opening Weekend series, Tulane University will host Tambourine Cypher Part I with P.6 artist Ashley Teamer, a lecture panel discussing the historic and cultural influence of the tambourine on Gulf South music. The panelists are all renowned local artists who are tambourine experts, including recording artist Gladney, Ms. Rosalie “The Tambourine Lady” Washington, and Aaron Washington from Guardians of the Flame. The panel will be moderated by author and Tulane professor Kyle DeCoste, and is in conjunction with Teamer’s larger installation at Lemann Park co-commissioned in collaboration with Arts New Orleans and the City of New Orleans Percent for Art Program.
Also for P.6, artists Eisa Jocson and Venuri Perera will present the U.S. debut of their performance Magic Maids the New Marigny Theater. Exploring how women in exploitative situations declare agency through laughter, gossip, spell casting, and exorcism, this performance will also coincide with a movement workshop during Opening Weekend. Bethany Collins will present a new performance Civil Dusk (2024) at the Marigny Opera House. The performance, with music sung by Allie Bradford and Keanon Kyles, will begin as sunlight fades and end in astronomical twilight.
In addition to the artist presentations and programs during the Opening Weekend, Prospect will host the P.6 GalaonNovember 1 at the Sugar Mill, honoring P.6 Curatorial Advisor and P.5 artist Ron Bechet, renowned art collector and philanthropist Dr. V. JoySimmons, gallerist Arthur Roger, distinguished art history professor Krista Thompson, and P.1 & P.5 artist Nari Ward—each of whom have made important contributions to Prospect and New Orleans’s contemporary art community. For ticket purchases or more information about the event, please visit //www.prospect6.org/events/prospect-6-gala.
Programming highlights during Closing Weekend include the U.S. debut of On Flashing Lights, a light and sound installation by P.6 artist Brendan Fernandes, featuring DJ Bouffant Bouffant, host of Gimme a Reason. P.6 artist Deborah Jack, in partnership with UNO St. Claude Gallery, will present an immersive musical activation with the Diaphanous Ensemble. P.6 artist Stephanie Syjuco, in partnership with Bayou Barkada and Dr. Randy Gonzales, will explore the layered histories surrounding the site of St. Malo.
For more details on Opening Weekend events, schedules and registration, please visit the Prospect website, which will be regularly updated with new programming announcements.
