Dan Cameron's Letter to Prospect.1 Volunteers

Dear Prospect.1 Volunteer,

I’d like to open this letter by saying that although Prospect.1 closed two full months ago, and for some of you may be mostly a memory, it continues to be an essential part of my daily life. That is because with each week that passes, I continue to hear from people who saw the biennial or read about it, people who can’t wait to visit New Orleans or who can’t wait to return. These essential messages of hope and support serve to remind me why I got involved in this undertaking more than three years ago. In the American contemporary art world, and on an international level, New Orleans is now part of the map to a degree that has never happened before. Our mission going forward is to keep that level of recognition growing, so that Prospect.2 captures even more people’s imaginations, and draws twice the number of people to our wonderful city than the first one did.

As you may be aware, the transition to post-Prospect.1 matters has not been as smooth as we all would have liked. Some shortfalls in our fundraising, along with some overages in our expenses, resulted in a tense couple of months, during which it was not entirely certain that we’d be able to pay all our bills and keep going forward. This is probably every founding director’s nightmare – the fear that an artistically successful project can turn unsuccessful overnight, due to the economics involved. But because of the heroic job that that our Board of Directors has done raising funds and negotiating with creditors since the beginning of the year, I’m both incredibly happy and deeply relieved to be able to tell you that it is beginning to look like we will be able to make some public announcements about Prospect.2 before summer is underway.

However, before the transition from P.1 to P.2 can become a reality, there are a few important things I’ve been meaning to do, none of which is more important than expressing the gratitude I feel for your essential part in making Prospect.1 a success. No matter whom I talk to about Prospect.1, from colleagues to museum directors to visitors from overseas, everybody has had the highest praise for the volunteers. Making people feel welcome, helping track attendance, telling our guests about the artists in P.1, and giving a helping hand to the artists themselves – these details helped make Prospect.1 so special for thousands of visitors, and you’re the one who made that a reality.

Of course, we were all unbelievably fortunate to have had such a fantastic team to coordinate the hundreds of volunteers who gave of themselves so unselfishly. Aimee Farnet Siegel, John D’Addario, Brian Knighten, and Sarina Mohan were nothing short of remarkable at their jobs, and I’m sure you share with me a deep gratitude for their hard work and dedication. But in the end, you were the ones who made the biggest difference, because you pledged your time and energy to something that was largely an unknown quantity, and you did it out of a love of New Orleans. If it was possible to do so, there’s nothing I’d enjoy so much as taking each one of you out for a drink, so I could express these feelings in person. Unfortunately, since neither my wallet nor my liver is up to that challenge, I’ll have to make do with the next best thing, which is a letter addressed to each one of you individually, but written collectively.

I hope you will join me in imagining for just a moment that over the coming years, Prospect New Orleans is able to grow and become America’s biennial, and to continue to thrive long after I’ve left the scene. Should those dreams indeed come to fruition, I believe people will look back and wonder who it was that made all this possible – not who was on the staff, or even who the artists were, but who were those hundreds of generous citizens who, back in 2008, took it upon themselves to make sure Prospect.1 was a success, and never asked for a penny in return? If that day ever comes – and I honestly believe it will -- the magnitude of your contribution will finally be recognized. In the meantime, I hope you’ll settle for this heartfelt message of gratitude from me, because I can assure you that if you hadn’t come to our aid when we needed it most, this never could ever have happened.

I look forward to seeing you all at JazzFest next month, and with luck, at Prospect.2 next year.

With my very warmest regards,

Dan Cameron

Founding Director, Prospect.1 New Orleans