P.5: Yesterday We Said Tomorrow
Three installations on view at The Historic New Orleans Collection
October 23, 2021–January 23, 2022
Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
520 and 533 Royal Street
Free ticketed admission.

About the Exhibition

The Historic New Orleans Collection plays host to three installations for Prospect New Orleans, a citywide contemporary art triennial and the only exhibition of its kind in the US with a decade-long history. Every three years, Prospect brings new art to an old city by inviting artists from all over the world to create projects in a wide variety of venues spread throughout New Orleans. Each iteration of Prospect is organized by a leading voice in the curatorial field. For residents and visitors alike, Prospect is an invitation to experience the city through the eyes of artists. Yesterday We Said Tomorrow, a title inspired by the 2010 album Yesterday You Said Tomorrow by New Orleans jazz musician Christian Scott, features 51 artists in more than 15 venues around the city. Prospect.5 is curated by Artistic Directors Naima J. Keith and Diana Nawi. Visitors to THNOC will be able to see these installations:

Dawoud Bey: In This Here Place and Evergreen
George Dureau: Photographs (curated by Grace Deveney)
Josh Kun: Over and Over the Waves

Dawoud Bey: In This Here Place and Evergreen

on the first floor of THNOC’s Tricentennial Wing
520 Royal Street

Working in both color and black-and-white, photographer Dawoud Bey creates intimate portraits of people and places that illuminate individual presence while exploring and creating a historical record. His Prospect.5 installation, In This Here Place, is a series of large-scale, black-and-white photographs made at Louisiana plantations. The installation also features the multimedia presentation Evergreen, which incorporates music performed by Imani Uzuri.

George Dureau: Photographs (curated by Grace Deveney)

on the second floor of THNOC’s Tricentennial Wing
520 Royal Street

Prospect.5 presents a selection of photographs by George Dureau (1930–2014), a New Orleans native described as “a quintessential New Orleans artist” who achieved regional and national acclaim for his work, which included paintings, drawings, sculpture, and photography. This exhibition displays studio photographs of many of Dureau’s frequent subjects, as well as images captured in the French Quarter, near Lake Pontchartrain, and other locations around the city.

Josh Kun: Over and Over the Waves

on view in the Counting House of THNOC’s Merieult House
533 Royal Street

Cultural historian Josh Kun is curator of an Over and Over the Waves, an exhibition recalling the 8th Cavalry Mexican Military Band’s memorable visit to the 1884 World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, which took place on the current site of Audubon Park in New Orleans. Performing compositions like “Roses and Thorns” and “Over the Waves,” the band was a sensation of the exposition, drawing large crowds and glowing press coverage. “There has never been a band which has taken such hold on the affections of the people of New Orleans, not only on account of its artistic ability, but of the individual and social qualifications of its members,” wrote The Daily Picayune in February 1884. In addition to photographs and sheet music, the exhibition, includes a sound installation featuring newly recorded songs once performed by the 19th-century band.

For more information on the 8th Cavalry Mexican Military Band’s time in New Orleans, read this article on THNOC’s blog, First Draft, or listen to this 2018 episode from the podcast “TriPod: New Orleans at 300.”