Prospect.1 and Transforma Projects in Post-Katrina New Orleans

Joshua Decter's 2009 essay for Afterall Journal 22 examines the roles of Prospect.1, the first international biennial in New Orleans, and Transforma Projects, a grassroots cultural initiative, in the city's post-Hurricane Katrina recovery. Prospect.1, curated by Dan Cameron and funded by major benefactors including Toby Devan Lewis and the Getty Foundation, opened on 31 October 2008, featuring works such as Mark Bradford's ark-like Mithra and Nari Ward's installation at Battle Ground Baptist Church. Transforma Projects, developed by Rick Lowe, Sam Durant, Jessica Cusick, and Jessica Garza, provided logistical support for Mel Chin's Operation Paydirt, including the Fundred Dollar Bill Project, and administered Creative Recovery Mini-Grants. Decter contrasts the top-down biennial model with Transforma's bottom-up approach, questioning whether such initiatives serve as engines for cultural tourism or genuine social rebuilding. He highlights the Lower Ninth Ward's devastation, where 80% of the city flooded in 2005, and notes that only a few Prospect.1 projects, like Wangechi Mutu's Mrs. Sarah's House and SUPERFLEX's When the Levees Broke We Broke Our House, aimed to redistribute capital to local communities. The essay critiques disaster capitalism and the potential for biennials to inadvertently replicate tourism of suffering, while acknowledging the need for sustained, ethical engagement.