Dan Cameron Lecture

Fantastic. Dan Cameron opened his talk, which was focused on his creation and curation of the inaugural incarnation of Prospect One: New Orleans Biennial, by talking about water. He talked about how water flows down the Misssissippi River, and empties in part into Lake Pontchartrain. He talked about trading, and slaving , and rowing, and the bayou, and all of the effects that all of this water has had on the tropical climate in Southern Louisiana. He had his facts and figures down pat. He talked about the city itself and its three most important cultural axes: music, food and architecture. Dan Cameron, along with many of my friends from New York, is openly in love with New Orleans.

His first concrete action, as curator of the largest biennial in North America, was to redraw the official tourist map of the city. He included all of the poor neighborhoods that the city commissioner didn't want tourists to be able to find, including the Ninth Ward. For my money, that was a terrific and inclusive way to begin a relationship with the city. He gave us each a copy of this map. It's a real beauty.



I have discovered on line that it's called Birds-Eye View, and was created by Atelier Fleufhaus and Thalweg Studio for Prospect One.

His lecture was really great, and moving, and the projects that many artists made just for the event were beautiful and well thought-through. If you have a chance to hear him speak, try to make it.