Not surprisingly, it is Cameron who boasts most enthusiastically about what his biennial can do for the city. As he sees it, Prospect.1 is part of a more-than-century-long story that in effect brings New Orleans full circle. In 1887, the city hosted what is widely considered to be the United States' first international art exhibition, and the Big Easy was for a time at the forefront of American involvement in the art world, a position Cameron hopes it will reclaim.

"We don't have a dearth of art fairs, but we do lack a big, disinterested—that is, not market-driven—international biennial," said Cameron. "If this country can find its way to an exhibition on the scale of Venice or Sao Paolo, I think New Orleans is the place to do it."