NEW ORLEANS, LA.- Prospect New Orleans announced the appointment of two new members to its board. Dawn DeDeaux and Arthur Lewis will help guide the organization in the lead-up to its fifth edition, Yesterday we said tomorrow, curated by Artistic Directors Naima J. Keith and Diana Nawi. Opening on October 24, 2020 and remaining on view through January 24, 2021, Prospect.5 will take place in museums, cultural spaces, and public sites throughout New Orleans. The exhibition will feature artists based in the United States, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe, many of whom will produce newly commissioned projects.
“We are truly honored to add two luminaries like Dawn and Arthur to our board,” said Prospect Executive Director Nick Stillman. “They’re each ideal Prospect board members: New Orleans natives with global impact and experience and hearts firmly rooted in their home city. Any cultural institution, New Orleans-based or otherwise, would be lucky to have them as board members.”
The New Orleans-based DeDeaux has exhibited her art in museums nationwide. Her retrospective The Space Between Worlds will open at the New Orleans Museum of Art in October 2020, concurrently with Prospect P.5. A New Orleans native, she has received prestigious international awards, such as the American Academy in Rome Prize, and the Rauschenberg Foundation Artist in Residence. As an educator, she established experimental art programming for Orleans Parish Prison and has been Visiting Artist at numerous institutions.
“The establishment and continuation of Prospect is among the most important investments in the future of New Orleans and its cultural community—seeding the city and region with access to cutting edge international art at the highest level and interaction with its master practitioners. I look forward to furthering the vision and outreach of PNO as a member of the Prospect Board," said Dawn DeDeaux.
Arthur Lewis is one of the contemporary art world’s leading lights. Currently Creative Director of UTA Fine Arts & UTA Artist Space in Los Angeles, he is also on the boards of The Hammer Museum at UCLA, and serves in an advisory capacity at the New Orleans African American Museum and the Studio Museum in Harlem. As a tireless advocate for artists and the arts community at large, Lewis will bring his dedication and knowledge to Prospect on the eve of its fifth edition.
"As a New Orleans native, it’s wonderful to see the impact Prospect has had on the global art market. Many of the projects have served as beacons of hope for artists, with my beautiful hometown serving as the canvas. I am looking forward to extending the reach of PNO and cementing our place as a cultural milestone on the world stage," said Arthur Lewis.
The last edition of Prospect New Orleans’s triennial, Prospect.4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp (P.4), took place from November 16, 2017 to February 25th, 2018. This critically acclaimed exhibition featured more than seventy artists selected by Artistic Director Trevor Schoonmaker. During its run, Prospect.4 engaged over 100,000 visitors through the exhibition as well as educational and public programs.
Dawn DeDeaux has merged art with new technologies for decades to broaden art and audience engagement. Her work has been exhibited in museums nationwide including the Whitney, Armand Hammer, the Aldrich Contemporary, Ballroom Marfa, and a recent two-year exhibition at MASS MoCA. The New Orleans Museum of Art is organizing a career retrospective of her work titled The Space Between Worlds, that will open in October 2020 concurrent with Prospect.5. The Retrospective will feature an overture to “Goddess Fortuna” — her Prospect.2 standout installation produced at the historic French Quarter Brulatour Mansion.
DeDeaux is a New Orleans native born on Esplanade Avenue next door to the Edgar Degas House and has remained a downtown 7th Ward resident throughout her life. Among her offerings to the magical surrealism of New Orleans, she is the winner of the 1976 Demolition Derby in the New Orleans SuperDome as the only female in a field of 35 contenders.
Arthur Lewis, Creative Director of UTA Fine Arts & UTA Artist Space. A patron of the arts and a significant collector of both emerging artists and Contemporary African American Art, Lewis – who is a member of the boards of The Hammer Museum at UCLA, Prospect New Orleans, a member of the National Advisory Committee for The New Orleans African American Museum, and is a Global Council member at The Studio Museum in Harlem – is a well-known and distinguished figure in the art world. He joined UTA after serving as Executive Vice President of the New York Design Office for Kohl’s, where he oversaw product design and development. Lewis has also held executive leadership roles at HSN, Hautelook, and Gap Inc., where he focused on brand management, merchandising, and product development. Under his tenure, UTA has exhibited diverse showcases including two collaborative exhibitions: partnering with Carpenter’s Workshop Gallery and another with Mariane Ibrahim Gallery.
