Welcome to Kolaj Institute
The mission of Kolaj Institute is to support artists, curators, and writers who seek to study, document, & disseminate ideas that deepen our understanding of collage as a medium, a genre, a community, and a 21st century movement. We operate a number of initiatives meant to bring together community, investigate critical issues, and raise collage’s standing in the art world.
Kolaj Institute Gallery in New Orleans is an exhibition gallery, residency center, artist studio, library and archive. Located at 2374 Saint Claude Avenue, Suite 230, at the corner with St. Roch Avenue above the Peach Cobbler Factory. The Gallery is open Thursday-Saturday, Noon-6PM or by appointment. Join us on Second Saturday for the Bywater Art Walk from 6-8PM.
CALL TO ARTISTS
Collage in Practice Workshop
A four-week, virtual/online workshop with Kolaj Institute starting 10 May 2026. Final Deadline to apply: 20 April 2026
VIRTUAL EVENT
Kolaj LIVE Online: Folklore on Parade
Thursday, 26 March 2026, 7-9PM EDT
Online, Free
COMMUNITY WORKSHOP
Collage the Tarot
Second Wednesdays
Wednesday, 13 May 2026, 7-9PM CDT
Kolaj Institute Gallery, $20
COLLAGE ON VIEW
Folklore On Parade
Through 11 April 2026 at Kolaj Institute Gallery in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
SUPPORT KOLAJ INSTITUTE
Be the Glue
We need you to BE THE GLUE that keeps the work of Kolaj Institute going into the next year.
COLLAGE MAKING & NETWORKING
Collage Artist Meet-Up
Last Tuesday of each Month
Tuesday, 28 April 2026, 6-7:30PM CDT
Kolaj Institute Gallery, Free
KOLAJ LIVE ONLINE
Getting Ready for World Collage Day 2026
Saturday, 21 March, 2-4 pm EDT
Online, Free
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
Susan Li O’Connor
16-22 March 2026 at Kolaj Institute Gallery in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
NEW PUBLICATION
Locative Kolaj By Special Agent Collage Collective
40 pages | 7″x5″ | saddle-stitched booklet | ISBN 978-1-927587-75-1 | 2025
NEW PUBLICATION
Kolaj Bulletin #4
A printed version of the zine, Kolaj Bulletin, is mailed to donors every three months.
VIRTUAL RESIDENCY
The Elusive X: PoetryXCollage
A five-session PoetryXCollage virtual residency, 21 February-22 March 2026.
NEW PUBLICATION
Frankenstein
This new version of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s classic 19th century novel Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus features seventy-six illustrations by International Collage Artists who delved into the novel’s rich narrative and visual potential and created thought-provoking artworks that reflect the essence of Frankenstein in a 21st century context.
NEW PUBLICATION
Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide
Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide is a collage. The book combines the text of a Polish human rights activist Martin Mycielski with the artwork of seven collage artists to create a space in which we can think about the rise of authoritarianism and how to navigate the troubling, difficult times in which we find ourselves. Organized as a series of lists, the book illustrates what to expect under authoritarianism and offers rules for surviving authoritarian regimes and engaging their supporters. The introduction traces how the text came into existence and how the artists came together to make collage about it. Ric Kasini Kadour shares historical examples of artists responding to authoritarianism; John Heartfield’s anti-fascist collage and a 1979 exhibition in East Germany that was described as a “victory over false consciousness.” Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide is a testament to the role art can play in our communities.
CURRENT ISSUE
Kolaj #43
Since 2011, Kolaj Magazine has documented, reported on, and explored the amazing artists who make up the international collage community.
Inside Kolaj #43, we present Clive Knights’ essay on the Necessity of Misrecognition. Irish collagist Anthony D Kelly reports on Ireland’s Basic income for the Arts program. Photomontagist Mark Rappaport is interviewed by Michael Joshua Rowin. “Blank Cartridge Pistol” is Kolaj Magazine Editor Ric Kasini Kadour’s editorial on making art in today’s world. “The Rose”, which was on view at CPW in Kingston, New York in 2025, is reviewed by Tiffany Dugan. The relationship between collage and trauma is examined in Anthony Michael Ryder’s essay, “A Communion of Pain”. Missouri collagist Emily Denlinger writes about her experience of bringing her “Gain of Function” project to Carnival in New Orleans. And so much more, including Artist Portfolios and more artists from the Kolaj Institute’s Curating Collage Workshop curating work from the Institute’s collection.
Our goal with every issue is that Kolaj Magazine is essential reading for anyone interested in the role of contemporary collage in art, culture, and society.
CURRENT ISSUE
PoetryXCollage:
Volume 8
PoetryXCollage is a printed journal of artwork and writing which operates at the intersection of poetry and collage. We are interested in found poetry, blackout poetry, collage poems, haikus, centos, response collages, response poems, word scrambles, concrete poetry, scatter collage poems, and other poems and artwork that inhabit this world.
Each issue presents six movements of work by artists and curators. Page spreads are meant to be free zones of thinking where the contributor has chosen all elements of the layout: font, image place, composition, etc.
NEW PUBLICATION
Folklore Collage Society, Volume 1
Folklore Collage Society is a printed journal dedicated to artwork and artists who activate, transmit, and celebrate folklore as a form of cultural expression and a strategy for community resilience. In its pages, stories, statements, essays, field notes, poetry, and song lyrics mingle with collage art that shows how collage artists are thinking about the folklore.
In Folklore Collage Society, Volume 1, editor Ric Kasini Kadour lays out the inspiration behind the project. Kate Sutherland and Bella LaMontagne share Irish and Celtic folklore. Indira Govindan (cover artist) considers the story of Lakshmibai. Jennifer Lentfer offers an example of counter folklore. Jacoub Reyes explores Taíno oral histories. We share Field Notes about crows and witches turning into hares. Sarah Cowling and Eli Craven makes art of their own family folklore Leanne Poellinger explores the symbolism and community of apple pie. Dean Reynolds offers us photographic evidence of gateways between realms. Natalie Vestin shares stories of Swedish smallfolk. And Verónica Poblete Villanueva takes us to Algeria and shows us the dance of Ouled Nail Tribe.
ABOUT KOLAJ INSTITUTE
The mission of Kolaj Institute is to support artists, curators, and writers who seek to study, document, & disseminate ideas that deepen our understanding of collage as a medium, a genre, a community, and a 21st century movement. We operate a number of initiatives meant to bring together community, investigate critical issues, and raise collage’s standing in the art world.
Kolaj Institute works in partnership with Kolaj Magazine to communicate, market, promote, publish, and distribute the work of the Institute. Kolaj Institute is the recipient of Kolaj Magazine‘s archives and collections.
Kolaj Institute is decentralized and works in partnership with a number of art venues and other organizations around the world to manifest its programs.