Prospect .1 New Orleans   is a new international biennial of contemporary art in New Orleans opening November 1, 2008 and continuing through January 18, 2009. Directed by international curator Dan Cameron, Prospect .1 New Orleans will be the largest international exhibition of contemporary art ever presented in the United States, showcasing the work of artists from around the globe while re-establishing New Orleans as a major center for the contemporary visual arts experience.

The goals for Prospect .1 are multi-layered:

1. invite more than 75 of the most promising and/or recognized artists in the world, international, national and local artists, to develop major new projects that will be seen for the first time in New Orleans;
2. provide a focus for efforts by the national and international visual arts communities to revitalize the city;
3. showcase historic New Orleans architecture through contemporary art installations; present New Orleans and Louisiana artists in an environment where international visitors can see them to advantage;
4. expose the Louisiana public to new art that has been conceived and developed to be presented in their city;
5. promote a public schools curriculum emphasizing visual arts as both vocational goal and model for analytical thought;
6. develop a new category of tourism for the city.

Why New Orleans?
Although it is universally celebrated as the birthplace of jazz, few people are aware that New Orleans is also where new international art first found an official footing in the U.S. From its inception in 1887 – Claude Monet was among the early exhibitors – through 1914, when Italy and France sent their official artistic representatives for the last time, the Annual Exhibition of the Art Association of New Orleans functioned as America's most sophisticated ongoing survey of new international art. This legacy of welcoming the international avant-garde is visible today in the city's sprawling network of art galleries, museums and art centers, and its vibrant community of working artists. In January 2006, a few months after the devastation wreaked by Katrina, Dan Cameron went back to New Orleans to join in a series of community discussions about the cultural rebuilding of the city. Within 24 hours of witnessing firsthand the devastation of the Ninth Ward, it was clear to Dan that the response to this catastrophe should be to organize the largest exhibition of contemporary art in the U.S. – in the center of old New Orleans.

Who will benefit from Prospect .1 New Orleans ?
Three separate but overlapping groups will directly benefit from the implementation of Prospect .1. With Prospect .1's policy of free admission, extended hours and daily guided tours, and through significant marketing and advertising along with support by local media, it is projected that more than half of the people visiting the exhibition will be from within the state of Louisiana.

The second direct beneficiary of Prospect .1 will be the U.S. and international art community, as measured by the strong collective desire by artists, collectors, curators, gallerists and other members of the international art community to make a positive contribution to the city and people of New Orleans. Finally, there are the artists themselves, most of whom would embrace the opportunity to make new work in the context of New Orleans. Become a pioneering supporter of Prospect .1 New Orleans !

Prospect .1 New Orleans is developed and produced solely by U.S. Biennial, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation founded in January 2007 for this purpose. All contributions and donations to the Emergency Response Studio can be made through U.S. Biennial, Inc., and are fully deductible under the 501(c)(3) section of the IRS code (please consult your accountant. Contributions can be made by check or money order, payable to 'U.S. Biennial Inc' and mailed to U.S. Biennial Inc, 135 Grand Street, 4th Floor, NYC 10013. Please indicate on the check and in a cover letter that the funds are for the exclusive benefit of the Emergency Response Studio. Thank you for your support, and please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about Prospect .1 New Orleans and the Emergency Response Studio project.