Prospect New Orleans launched its first international contemporary art biennial in November 2008. This October, Prospect.3 will open with 61 artists exhibiting in multiple venues citywide, including NOMA. NOMA’s rich encyclopedic holdings allow for thoughtful engagement with the modern and contemporary, suggesting a synergy between the city’s first and grandest museum with the art and ideas of the present.

A key aspect featured consistently in the exhibition is the exploration of “other” in Western art, as well as the adoption of canonical forms by artists to create new and hybrid artistic movements. The touchstone here is Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), who through his obsessive practice and exoticization of a foreign culture was able to achieve a singular means of expression. NOMA’s Pair of Doors: Rupe Tahiti, 1891-93, depicts Tahitian women in a manner akin to stained-glass doors typical of European churches.

A group of paintings by Brazilian modernist Tarsila do Amaral (1886-1973) complements the museum’s early twentieth century collection. Tarsila do Amaral’s work appropriates foreign and native influences and elevates the local or site-specific, calling into question the relationship between artistic ideas and ideals of similarity and difference in global art.

The work of several other artists from the modernist period attests to the presence of different narratives within the movement. Three key works by Alma Thomas (1891-1978), one of the first black women artists to be celebrated in the mainstream, are on view. New Orleans-born Ed Clark (b. 1926) is placed here as well, in visual conversation with his friend painter Joan Mitchell (1925-1992), as well as the playful surrealist figuration of Huguette Caland (b. 1931).

In another take on modernity, artist Jeffrey Gibson (b. 1972) uses sculpture and painting to ignite a conversation about Native American contemporary art. In the Great Hall, a selection of large colorful portraits of cultural legends by Frederick J. Brown (1945-2012) will be displayed. These portraits, on long-term loan to NOMA, show how, through his art, Brown shared the diverse cultural history of the United States.

Finally, Andrea Fraser (b. 1965) will present a performance that explores racial relations in the South. As a white Northern outsider, Fraser explores dialogue and confrontation in New Orleans among diverse audiences. Fraser’s performance will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 25 in the Stern Auditorium at NOMA.