2024 PROGRAM OF EVENTS
Kolaj Fest New Orleans is a multi-day festival and symposium, 12-16 June 2024. Our mission is to create a platform that allows us to explore critical issues around collage including how it is curated and presented, its role in contemporary art, and the tensions between collage as a medium, a genre, a community, and a movement.
Our goal is to create an event that attracts a variety of people working in various capacities, such as art professionals at museums, galleries, and centers as well as academics, writers, and artists.
The program at Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2024 promises to be a unique experience. In building a program, our aim is to break down hierarchy and foster dialogue among art professionals working in a variety of capacities.
NOTE: Program times, location, presenters are subject to change. Check back often as we update the program and add additional information about activities.
WEDNESDAY, 12 JUNE 2024
SPECIAL EVENT
Welcome Reception
Wednesday, 12 June 2024, 3-5PM
Artisan Bar, 2514 Saint Claude Avenue
Located just down the street from Kolaj Institute in the Bywater, Artisan Bar is a friendly neighborhood cafe. Join us on Wednesday, 12 June 2024 from 3PM to 5PM for a Welcome Reception & Collage Making. Attendees will be able to check into Kolaj Fest and meet the organizers and other folks attending Kolaj Fest. Collage Making is hosted by Mystic Krewe of Scissors & Glue, New Orleans collage community. Cash bar.
SPECIAL EVENT
Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined | Film Screenings
Wednesday, 12 June 2024, Noon-7PM
New Orleans Museum of Art, Lapis Center for the Arts
This special screening of Wangechi Mutu’s films is taking place just before the start of Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2024. We encourage attendees to visit the museum for these films if they have time. Museum admission fees apply.
As part of the exhibition, “Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined”, the New Orleans Museum of Art presents seven short films by the artist. The total runtime is about an hour and a half. The films will be screened in the museum’s Lapis Center for the Arts, which has ample seating and is wheelchair accessible.
OPENING RECEPTION
Where Photography Meets Collage Opening Reception
Wednesday, 12 June 2024, 6-8PM
New Orleans Photo Alliance, 7800 Oak Street
Photography and collage have a long history of being in dialogue with one another; however, the intersection of these two mediums is poorly explored. The exhibition “Where Photography Meets Collage” aims to change that. This is the first of two exhibitions produced in collaboration between the New Orleans Photo Alliance and Kolaj Institute. The exhibition features artwork submitted through an open call to artists and artwork from the May 2024 Photography & Collage Artist Residency, where photographers and collage artists came together in dialogue, learning from one another, and making artwork for a series of exhibitions that explore the intersection of collage and photography.
SPECIAL EVENT
Assemblage in New Orleans
Wednesday, 12 June 2024, 6-8PM
New Orleans Museum of Art
Join us for a panel discussion with contemporary artists Soraya Jean Louis, Ryann Sterling and Ashley Teamer, moderated by artist and scholar Kristina Kay Robinson, highlighting the artistic practices and cultural traditions of assemblage and collage in New Orleans and across the region. Panelists will share insights into their own practice and discuss how as both a formal and informal practice, assemblage in the Gulf and Global South at large, has served as a form of reconstituted inheritance for those disenfranchised by mainstream power structures. Through the use of ritual, objects, and story, an “alter-archive” of the human experience is rendered by artists and practitioners who work in the region’s various artistic and sacred traditions
THURSDAY, 13 JUNE 2024
DAILY CONGRESS
Welcome to Kolaj Fest New Orleans
Thursday, 13 June 2024, 10:30-11AM
New Orleans Museum of Art
We will officially open Kolaj Fest New Orleans at Thursday’s Daily Collage Congress and hear from a number of artists about projects and exhibitions taking place during the festival. Artists will be invited to contribute to the Great Collage Swap taking place on Sunday. Thursday’s Congress is the primary orientation to Kolaj Fest New Orleans.
MUSEUM TOUR
Wangechi Mutu Tour
Thursday, 13 June 2024, 11AM-Noon
New Orleans Museum of Art
Jennella Young and LaVonna Varnado-Brown
Immediately following the Daily Collage Congress, Jennella Young and LaVonna Varnardo Brown will introduce the exhibition, “Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined”, and lead a tour. Speakers will highlight “how the exhibit explores Mutu’s evolution as a collage artist, as she pursues an inquiry related to the representation of Black women’s bodies.”
SYMPOSIUM
Rending, Mending, & Reusing: Art, Justice, & the Environment
Thursday, 13 June 2024, 12:45-2PM
New Orleans Museum of Art
Phil Irish, Naomi White, Madera Rogers-Henry, & Christopher Kurts
Art is a unique technology that can distill complexity into simple human gestures that, when experienced, facilitate a deeper understanding of our world, perhaps one that can lead to a greater sense of agency around environmental issues. In this panel, artists will speak about the way they use collage as a tool to think through and think with climate justice issues and how we can use art to engage viewers around shared concerns.
SYMPOSIUM
1-2-3 Bop! Collage, Jazz & Collaboration
Thursday, 13 June 2024, 2:15-3PM
New Orleans Museum of Art
Paloma Trecka & Todd Bartel
Chicago-based Paloma Trecka and Watertown, Massachusetts-based Todd Bartel will speak about the intersection of collage and jazz in light of the upcoming collage exhibition, “BOP!”.
WORKSHOP
Collage on the Street & in the Classroom
Thursday, 13 June 2024, 2:30-4PM
John Thompson Legacy Center, 1212 Saint Bernard Ave.
Stephanie Almendariz
During this workshop, Stephanie Almendariz will share her art practice, how she engages with the community through pop-up street collage, and speak about how to bring collage into the school environment. She will share her strategies to help others design collage who may have never worked with this medium before showing students their creative possibilities. Almendariz will also host a roundtable discussion for educators who want to share their own strategies for bringing collage in the classroom. Educators from the New Orleans area are welcome to attend this special event.
Note: This event is included in your Kolaj Fest New Orleans registration with no need to RSVP.
FILM SCREENING
Return to Sender: Women of Color in Colonial Postcards & the Politics of Representation
Thursday, 13 June 2024, 3:15-4:15PM
New Orleans Museum of Art
Mara Ahmed
“Return to Sender: Women of Color in Colonial Postcards & the Politics of Representation is a short, experimental film directed and produced by Mara Ahmed. It pushes the documentary medium in unexpected ways by opening with three contemporary South Asian-American women who recreate British colonial postcards from the early 20th century.
EVENING EVENT
Collage On Screen
Thursday, 13 June 2024, 7-9PM
Cafe Istanbul
Collage on Screen, an eclectic evening of moving images, is part of Kolaj Institute’s Collage in Motion project, which explores collage and the moving image, a broad, loosely defined category that includes animations, film cut-ups, collage film, stop-motion, documentaries about collage artists, and other forms of media in which collage—as medium or genre—is present. This year’s program features the Kolaj Institute’s Collage on Screen Artist Residency and selections curated by Lisa Barcy that includes prolific animator Janie Geiser, films by the late filmmakers Doug Haynes and Helen Hill, plus a range of animated films featuring both handmade and digital techniques.
NOTE: Admission to this event is included in your Kolaj Fest New Orleans registration. There is no need to purchase tickets or RSVP.
FRIDAY, 14 JUNE 2024
DAILY COLLAGE CONGRESS
Joy in All Its Forms
Friday, 14 June 2024, 10-10:45AM
Cafe Istanbul [MAP]
Ben Dinino & Ric Kasini Kadour
Ric Kasini Kadour will speak about Kolaj Institute’s Joy as Subject project, debut a short film about joy, and share some of the artwork. In the second part of the session, Ben DiNino will present, THIS SIDE TOWARD SCREEN, a box set of collages made from slide and negative film.
SYMPOSIUM
Collage & Poetry
Friday, June 14, 2024, 11AM-12:15PM
Cafe Istanbul
Ania Spyra, Tiffany Dugan, Andres Arauz, Abby Meyers, Trish Crapo, & Missy-Marie Montgomery
Collage poets will continue the exploration of the intersection of collage and poetry which began with Kolaj Institute’s PoetryXCollage project.
SYMPOSIUM
Time & Fragmentation: Collage Theories
Friday, 14 June 2024, 1-1:45PM
Cafe Istanbul
Joe Bertino & Clive Knights
Joe Bertino and Clive Knights explore ideas about how we think about collage, its creation, and its role in society.
WORKSHOP
Pop-Up Collage
Friday, 14 June 2024, 12:45-1:45PM
New Orleans Healing Center, Suite 204
Catherine Plaisance
Catherine Plaisance will present on how she uses puzzle pieces, embroidery, acrylic paint, iridescent medium, and other materials to create stunning textures and compositions. She will also lead participants in the making of a pop-up collage that can be seen from both sides. Participants will build a theme on a duality, two different styles, two different subjects or a different material era.
WORKSHOP
Tiny Scrapbook
Friday, 14 June 2024, 12:45-1:45PM
New Orleans Healing Center, Suite 400
Jessa Dupuis
Jessa Dupuis will share her creative process and lead a collaborative sketchbook exchange project in her upcoming workshop. Each participant will receive a tiny sketchbook to collage and trade with others during the festival.
SYMPOSIUM
Getting Organized: Collage Projects
Friday, 14 June 2024, 2-3PM
Cafe Istanbul
Carol Fettin, Dawn M. Conry, Chasity Porter & Jenn Judson
Collage artists are unique in their organizing; rejecting the myth of the solitary artist and embracing community. The international collage community is a vibrant, globally networked group of artists who come together around projects and activities. These events and projects don’t just happen, they require organization and stewardship. In this session we will hear from artists who are project organizers: Carol Fettin, Dawn M. Conry, Chasity Porter & Jenn Judson. Panelists will offer tips for how to organize one’s own project and the audience will be invited to share projects they are organizing or ideas they have projects or events they would like to.
WORKSHOP
Scaling Down: Miniature Collage and Assemblage
Friday, 14 June 2024, 2-3PM
New Orleans Healing Center, Suite 204
Jamie Tara
In this making workshop, Nova Scotia-born, Boston-based artist Jamie Tara will lead the crafting of collages and assemblages on a miniature scale. Participants will start with a variety of 3D substrates (e.g., cardboard jewelry boxes and sardine or mint tins) and then layer in decorative papers, magazine images, paint, ephemera, and found objects. Materials will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring a selection of 3D trinkets or baubles as well as any favorite small-scale visual elements.
ROUNDTABLE
Passing Time in Collage
Friday, 14 June 2024, 2-3PM
New Orleans Healing Center, Suite 400
Joe Bertino
Continuing on themes presented in the symposium, Brooklyn, New York-artist Joe Bertino will lead a roundtable discussion with collage artists to brainstorm ways in which Change and Time can be expressed through collage.
SYMPOSIUM
Approaches to Material in Collage
Friday, 14 June 2024, 3:15-4:30PM
Cafe Istanbul
Emily Denlinger, Emily Somoskey, Laura Cannamela, Suzanne Greenberg
Materials convey meaning and help viewers decipher artworks. In this Symposium, collagists Emily Somoskey, Laura Cannamela, Emily Denlinger and Suzanne Greenberg will discuss the materials they incorporate into their collages. Cannamela will also speak about “Process Collage,” a proposed new collage taxonomy appellation and how it relates to the materiality of artists like Jiří Kolář, Noriko Ambe, Andrea Burgay, Mark Bradford, Jemima Wyman, her own work, and others.
WORKSHOP
Take me to the Water: A Baptism in Collage
Friday, 14 June 2024, 3:15-4:30PM
New Orleans Healing Center, Suite 204
LaVonna Varnado-Brown
This workshop is a call to spell cast through collage. This workshop’s intention is to give honor to Mother Earth and the life-giving inspiration she brings by honoring the beauty of the elements, specifically water, and more specifically, the Mississippi River. Through collage, we will engage in intentional making that explores the dominant allure that is the spirit of the water. Curated like a guided meditation, we will hear the voices of the whales, engage in witness writing, and end with a collage in process.
ROUNDTABLE
Finding Innovative Techniques
Friday, 14 June 2024, 3:15-4:30PM
CANCELED
Due to circumstances beyond our control, this Roundtable has been canceled.
EVENING EVENT
Collage & Kiki, New Orleans Edition
Friday, 14 June 2024, 6-8PM
John Thompson Legacy Center, 1212 Saint Bernard Avenue
Hosted by LaVonna Varnado Brown and Jennella Young
Collagists LaVonna Varnado Brown and Jennella Young invite the New Orleans community to a Collage & Kiki. “Remember that feeling of making art with the homies just for the pure joy of spending time and being creative together? There were snacks within reach, you got your art materials, some dope tunes playing in the background, and the kiki was so sweet you just didn’t want to leave. Join us for Collage & Kiki, New Orleans Edition, with our fam in town for Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2024. We’ll bring the playlist, the magazines, glue, and scissors. You bring the vibes and the creativity. All are welcome.“ This event is free.
NOTE: Admission to this event is included in your Kolaj Fest New Orleans Registration. There is no need to RSVP.
EVENING EVENT
Game Night: Collage
Thursday, 13 June 2024, 7-9PM
Cafe Istanbul
Hosted by Cheryl Chudyk, Jenn Judson, Robert Grouchenberg
At Kolaj Institute, we have a deeply held belief that art is not a competition and the practice of art awards, artist rankings, and competition among artists belies the spirit with which the International Collage Community makes its way through the world. But at Game Night: Collage, we are throwing that out the window. Bring it, you gluesticks! At this event, teams compete in increasingly ridiculous collage challenges until a winner is crowned. Assembling collage fragments blindfolded, building a collaborative zine in record time, and creating wearable collage fashion are just some of the games you can look forward to. Tap into the silly side of artmaking while being judged harshly by a cast of characters straight out of reality game shows like Hell’s Kitchen and Project Runway. Only one team can prove themselves the best (prizes are purely hypothetical).
SATURDAY, 15 JUNE 2024
DAILY COLLAGE CONGRESS
The Concept of Ma
Saturday, 15 June 2024, 10-10:45AM
Cafe Istanbul
Andrea Burgay, Katie Blake, Joe Bertino
At Saturday’s Daily Collage Congress, Joe Bertino will share the results of the Passing Time Roundtable. Andrea Burgay will speak about Cut Me Up magazine. Burgay will be joined by Katie Blake who will speak about the Japanese concept of Ma.
SYMPOSIUM
Copyright & Fair Use for Artists
Saturday, 15 June 2024, 11-11:45AM
Cafe Istanbul
Ashlye Keaton from The Ella Project
Collage artists often report a great deal of anxiety about copyright and fair use of materials. Artists are afraid of being sued, called out, or disrespectful of other artists. A recent post about copyright in a popular social group contained a great deal of misinformation. During this session, New Orleans, Louisiana lawyer and Ella Project co-founder Ashlye Keaton will speak about copyright, the principles of fair use, and take questions from artists. This session, which will not provide legal advice, is meant to reduce misinformation, enhance artist thinking, and reduce the anxiety some artists face about this subject.
SPECIAL EVENT
Collage Art & Book Market
Saturday, 15 June 2024, Noon-5PM
New Orleans Healing Center Great Hall
The Collage Art & Book Market is an opportunity for the general public to meet artists and publishers and to take in the rich and diverse cultural production of the international collage community. The public will be invited to peruse vendor displays or attend a talk or demonstration. The event is free and open to the public.
SYMPOSIUM
What’s Next for Kolaj Institute?
Saturday, 15 June 2024, 12:45-1:30PM
Cafe Istanbul
Ric Kasini Kadour and T. Owens Union
In this session, we will present upcoming exhibtions, residencies, workshops, and projects happening at Kolaj Institute and how to get involved.
WORKSHOP
Nous déchirons – Celebrating the Art of the Rip & Tear
Saturday, 15 June 2024, 12:30-1:30PM
New Orleans Healing Center, Suite 400
Clive Knights and Janice McDonald
Nous déchirons – A Workshop Celebrating the Art of the Rip and Tear
As an homage to the dance of paper fibers in articulate hands, Clive Knights and Janice McDonald, whose work highlights the creative potential of ripping and tearing, will lead a workshop that challenges you to leave your scissors behind.
WORKSHOP
Dye & Pigment
Saturday, 15 June 2024, 12:30-1:30PM
New Orleans Healing Center, Suite 204
Emily Denlinger
Denlinger will share her techniques during this workshop and speak about alternative materials.
SYMPOSIUM
Grief, Loss, & Recovery
Saturday, 15 June 2024, 1:45-2:45PM
Cafe Istanbul
Céline Browning, Jennifer Davis, Amara Hartman
What is the role of art in grief, loss, and recovery? In this panel, we will hear from three artists with unique insights on the subject. Céline Browning will speak about collage’s capacity to help people metabolize grief, particularly the loss of a loved one. Amara Hartman will speak about the act of creating through grief: motivation, mental and physical process and practice, resources to stay present, and states of acceptance. Jennifer Davis will speak about the role collage played in her recovery and sobriety.
WORKSHOP
Collage Poet’s Corner
Saturday, 15 June 2024, 2-4:30PM
New Orleans Healing Center, Suite 204
Trish Crapo & Missy-Marie Montgomery and Abby Meyers & Andres Arauz
For those who want to share their collage poetry practice, spend time making collage poems, collaborate, or network with other artists working at the intersection of poetry and collage. Trish Crapo & Missy-Marie Montgomery invite participants to bring a collage for others to write a response poem to or a work of poetry for others to collage. Abby Meyers and Andres Arauz will demonstrate their “A Correspondence” project where Arauz makes a collage on an index card and Meyers drafts a micro poem in response.
SYMPOSIUM
The Future Is Now, Was Then, Too
Saturday, 15 June 2024, 3-4PM
Cafe Istanbul
Christy Sheffield Sanford and AP Faust
Before we submit to the demands of our robot overlords, it behooves us to consider the role of technology in our collage practice. In this session, we will hear from Christy Sheffield Sanford and AP Faust, two artists who are doing just that. Sanford has been making and sharing art and writing on the internet since back in the 1990s when it was called the World Wide Web. Faust will share his experiences and thoughts about using AI as a tool in collage, specifically using Chat GPT to workshop artwork, get feedback, and articulate context to the artwork.
WALKING TOUR
Street Art Walking Tour
Saturday, 15 June 2024, 4-5PM
Departs from Kolaj Institute Gallery, 2374 Saint Claude Avenue, Suite 230. Entry from Saint Claude between Peach Cobbler Factory and New Orleans Healing Center
Lance Rothstein & residency artists
Kolaj Street Krewe, an informal group of artists interested in this subject, explores the role of collage in street art as a practice and phenomenon. The group formed out of a chance meeting of FANCLUB13, Rosie Schinners, and Laurie O’Brien at Kolaj Fest New Orleans in 2018. Realizing the three of them shared an interest in collage street art, they decided to form a group and pitch a project at Kolaj Fest New Orleans in 2019. During COVID-19, the Krewe led a forum as part of Kolaj LIVE Online which resulted in a Call to Artists. In July 2021, fourteen artists participated in the virtual Collage as Street Art Residency. This history is documented in the book, Wallflowers: Collage as Street Art. Today, the project manifests as residencies, presentations, articles, and publications. An in-person residency took place alongside Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2023 and Kolaj Institute is offering this opportunity again during Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2024. Join Lance Rothstein and Street Artists-in-Residence for a walking tour of artwork made during their time in New Orleans. Rothstein will introduce the project and then lead an expedition to visit some of the artworks installed during the residency.
ARTIST TALK
Magic in the Modern World Artist Talk
Saturday, 15 June 2024, 6-7PM
Kolaj Institute Gallery, 2374 Saint Claude Avenue, Suite 230. Entry from Saint Claude between Peach Cobbler Factory and New Orleans Healing Center
In Fall 2023, Kolaj Institute invited collage artists to visit New Orleans and explore magic as a cultural idea, an ancestral tradition, a construct used by power to subjugate, and as a practice used by others to resist colonization and capitalism. “Magic in the Modern World” is an exhibition of their work. At this event, curator Ric Kasini Kadour will speak about the project and the artists will talk about their work.
EVENING EVENT
The Art Party & Exhibition Reception
Saturday, 15 June 2024, 7-9PM
New Orleans Healing Center’s Second Story Gallery
Join us for a celebratory evening of music and art. Cash bar is available. This event takes place at the site of the exhibition, “S&WBNO Billing Issues: Collage by New Orleans Artists”.
NOTE: Admission to the Art Party is included in your Kolaj Fest New Orleans registration. There is no need to RSVP.
SUNDAY, 16 JUNE 2024
DAILY COLLAGE CONGRESS
Great Collage Swap & Goodbyes
Sunday, 16 June 2024, 10:30AM-Noon
LeMieux Galleries, 332 Julia Street in the Warehouse/New Orleans Arts District
On Sunday, we will gather one final time to say our goodbyes and to conduct The Great Collage Swap. To participate, bring a collage to exchange to the Info Table before 10AM Sunday. In return, you will be given a number. All of the collages will be displayed. During the program, a collage will be selected and matched with a number and the holder of that number will receive the collage. As the collages are matched, each artist has a chance to share their story.
LeMieux Galleries is also the site of the juried exhibition, “Amuse Bouche”, which presents work by artists who are attending Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2024. The exhibition was juried by LeMieux Galleries Director Christy Wood and Kolaj Magazine Editor Ric Kasini Kadour.
WORKSHOP
The Recycle Challenge Crafting Session
Sunday, 16 June 2024, 1-4PM
New Orleans Healing Center, Suite 204
Madera Rogers-Henry & Krewe
Collage artists are by nature recyclers. Madera E. Rogers-Henry of The Recycle Challenge will lead a 90-minute workshop during which participants will repurpose trash into wearable hats.
NOTE: Space is in this session is limited. All participants must RSVP. Kolaj Fest New Orleans Registrants use promo code RecycleKFNOLA24 at checkout to receive free access.
ABOUT THE EVENT
Kolaj Fest New Orleans is 12-16 June 2024
Kolaj Fest returns to New Orleans on 12-16 June 2024 for a coming together of collage artists and art professionals; a multi-day festival and symposium about contemporary collage and its role in art, culture, and society; where the focus is how we celebrate and elevate the status of collage. Presenters will lead panel discussions and explore key curatorial issues. Artists will exhibit artwork, and create special activities and demonstrations. We will meet, network, share community, camaraderie, and fellowship. We will leave armed with new ideas for our artmaking, writing, and curatorial projects, but more importantly, we will leave Kolaj Fest New Orleans prepared to champion this artform in the year to come.