Temporal Geolocation: How Place & History Inform Identity in Collage

Paula Mans, T. Owens Union, Candace Caston, & Jeanna Penn

Opening Reception during the Bywater Second Saturday Gallery Walk: Saturday, October 12, 6-9PM | Kolaj Institute Gallery

In Lure of the Local, Lucy Lippart wrote, “When we know where we are, we’re in a far better position to understand what other cultural groups are experiencing within a time and place we all share.” How do we temporally geolocate ourselves? How does the history of that place inform who we are in that place? How do we bring our own histories into a place that has a history of its own. North American modern life is fundamentally diasporic in nature. So many of us are from somewhere else and yet, where we are and when we are shapes who we are at any given point in time. How do we reconcile disparate identities and nurture a whole sense of self? In the exhibition, “Temporal Geolocation,” Paula Mans, T. Owens Union, Candace Caston, and Jeanna Penn draw on history and a sense of place to make collage art that speaks to identity. The exhibition runs October 11 to November 24, 2024 at Kolaj Institute Gallery.

The gallery is open Thursday through Saturday from Noon to 6PM and by appointment.

Joy Is Paper Film Screening at The Mystic Krewe of Scissors & Glue Collage Night

Wednesday, 16 October 2024, 7-9PM
at The Domino, 3044 Saint Claude Avenue

The Mystic Krewe of Scissors & Glue invites you to their free and open collage-making night, held every third Wednesday of the month from 7-9PM at The Domino on St. Claude.

In October, the Krewe will be screening Joy Is Paper by Ric Kasini Kadour, at 8PM. This 7-minute short film documents The Paper Parade, a walking parade organized by the Krewe in January 2024. The film shows participants as they prepare for the event and then as they parade through the streets of the Bywater neighborhood. For Collage Night, the Krewe provides a variety of supplies, including magazines, books, ephemera, substrates, X-acto knives, and of course, scissors and glue. Attendees are welcome to bring their own materials or projects to work on. Donations of materials are always appreciated. The Krewe’s goal is to foster creativity and enrich the community by encouraging everyone to create art.

The film screening and the Mystic Krewe of Scissors and Glue Collage Night is free. Learn more @neworleanscollage.

Crafting Costumes With Recyclables

Thursday, October 24th, 2024, 6-8PM

Cost: $30

Welcome to Crafting Costumes With Recyclables! Join The Recycle Challenge for a fun and creative in-person evening where you will learn how to turn recyclables into costumes. Participants will learn how to identify repurposable materials and to work with that material to make hats, dresses, sashes, jackets, and other costumes. This hands-on workshop will inspire you to see the beauty in materials that are often overlooked. Come learn new crafting techniques; make environmentally friendly art pieces; connect with other crafters; and make a positive impact on the environment. Let’s reduce waste and create something amazing together! Get ready to unleash your creativity by turning everyday recyclables into beautiful works of art.

The workshop is produced by The Recycle Challenge, a multinational initiative that celebrates the richness of diversity and is committed to fostering an inclusive environment that respects and values individuals of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Based in New Orleans, they reach global partners from Nigeria to the Congo. The organization offers hands-on experiences that fuse cultural art with upcycling. Their crafting sessions foster creativity, teach collaboration, and leave participants with a sense of accomplishment.

Collage Artist Meet-Up

Tuesday, 5 November 2024, 6-8PM
Tuesday, 3 December 2024, 6-8PM

Cost: Free

At Kolaj Institute, we reject the myth of the solitary artist and believe that artists are better in community with one another. In that spirit we invite working artists to join us for a monthly meet-up to get feedback on work, and network with one another. Find out who’s looking for folks to exhibit, meet other working artists, and get the low-down on the skinny of what’s up and up. The event is hosted by LaVonna Varnado Brown at Kolaj Institute Gallery. RSVP is helpful but not necessary. Artists are encouraged to bring artwork to share with the group. Questions? Send an email to info@kolajinstitute.org

Open Studio with Kolaj Institute Artist-in-Residence Emmanuel Laflamme

Saturday, 2 November 2024, 2-4PM

Cost: Free, limited space

Montreal-based collagist Emmanuel Laflamme writes, “Combining cultural references, I combine ancient and modern myths to share my perspective on the world, at once tender and critical. The absurd is my playground and anachronism is my specialty.” During his residency, Laflamme will create a new series of collages that push his boundaries and focus on developing a better understanding of his own artistic practice. He will meet with New Orleanians and collect materials locally, working from what he finds. He will seek inspiration in archives and local history museums. The body of work he creates in New Orleans will influence future work in painting, mixed media and other artistic endeavors.

On Saturday, 2 November 2024, 2-4PM, the public is invited to visit Kolaj Institute Gallery to meet the artist and see how the artwork is progressing. 

Learn more about Emmanuel Laflamme’s Solo Residency https://kolajinstitute.org/solo-residencies/

Open Studio with Kolaj Institute Artist-in-Residence Nate Hester

Saturday, 5 October 2024, 2-4PM

Cost: Free, limited space

During his Solo Residency, North Carolina-based artist Nate Hester will create two large-scale (64×44″) works on paper for the Tokyo International Art Fair. The artist’s trans-disciplinary work (drawings, projected animations, textiles, ceramics, immersive installations of household ephemera, tags, and interactive encounters) explores the charming if disquieting incongruities of the places, communities and bodies to which we all yearn to belong. He will use New Orleans as his inspiration for the work, writing that the city is the “confluence of many natural, political, historic, cultural and ethnic influences.” He will also use his time at Kolaj Institute to investigate the technique of bas-relief paper pulp sculpting.

On Saturday, October 5, 2024, 2-4PM, the public is invited to visit Kolaj Institute Gallery to meet the artist and see how the artwork is progressing. Calling the event “What the Shuck? Volume 2: Gallery Talk, Interpretive Dance, Spoken Word Storytelling & Community Snack”, Nate Hester offers four new monumental, street style works on paper produced during his 2-week residency at the Kolaj Institute alongside ancestral movements and spoken memories by Madera Rogers-Henry and a communal meal of oysters on the half shell on the balcony to follow. The collective meditation will focus on how “bodies” are “crafted” to function in spaces of both oppression and liberation. Can we all dance together?

Learn more about Nate Hester’s Solo Residency https://kolajinstitute.org/solo-residencies/