CALL TO ARTISTS
Collage in Practice Workshop
A four-week, virtual/online workshop with Kolaj Institute
Sundays, 2 to 23 February 2025, 2-4PM ET
Early deadline to apply: Monday, 30 December 2024
Final deadline to apply: Monday, 13 January 2025
The practice of collage takes on many forms. A practice will be shaped by the goals of the artist and what they want to achieve with their artwork, how they want to diffuse their artwork in the broader ecosystem of art. It will also be informed by the choice of material, scale, and subject matter. A collage practice is also informed by the history of artists who came before and how an artist chooses to be in dialogue or opposition with their creative ancestors. A working understanding of one’s practice is critical to one’s professional and artistic development.
Intended as a clinic for working artists at any level, participants in this workshop will explore how they go about making art and putting it out into the world. How to set goals and manage one’s practice towards those goals. How to get your work seen. How to get an exhibition. How to create and maintain an inventory. How to identify and think about artist ancestors and how they influence our artwork. These are some of the challenges artists face when they want to take their art practice to the next level. Together, we will explore the difference between art as a hobby, profession, or vocation.
Participants will explore critical concepts and collage taxonomies as a way to develop and refine the language they use to talk about their own practice and to develop a broad view of the creative landscape in which they operate. How does choice of material inform how the artwork is exhibited? How does one speak about their process so that it is understood by other art professionals and the general public? How can one use art history to create a critical context for one’s artwork? Topics include Collage Theory; Sourcing Materials, Copyright, Appropriation; Developing Materials; and Collage in Presentation.
OUTCOME
Participants will finish the workshop with a deeper understanding of their practice; a strong statement of practice that can be used to communicate with curators, editors, and art professionals; a portfolio of consistent artwork (or a plan to make one); and tools for growing or developing their practice.
Collage in Practice is part of Kolaj Institute’s Artist Development Program, a collection of three core workshops for self-motivated artists, at any stage in their career, who want to develop and expand their collage-based artist practice and work towards professional goals, particularly in the areas of exhibitions and publishing.
HOW TO APPLY
Learn more and apply at https://kolajinstitute.org/artist-development/
COST
The cost for the Collage in Practice Workshop is $600 USD. A limited number of grants is available to offset the workshop fee and reduce barriers to participation in the program, particularly for those artists coming from places in the world that face historic economic disadvantages. Follow the link in the How to Apply section above to learn more.
SESSION DATES
Sunday, 2 February 2025, 2-4PM EST
Sunday, 9 February 2025, 2-4PM EST
Sunday, 16 February 2025, 2-4PM EST
Sunday, 23 February 2025, 2-4PM EST
QUESTIONS
If you have questions, send an email.
FACULTY
Ric Kasini Kadour
Ric Kasini Kadour, a 2021 Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Curatorial Fellow, is a writer, artist, publisher, and cultural worker. Working with the Vermont Arts Council, Kadour curated four exhibits: “Connection: The Art of Coming Together” (2017) and Vermont Artists to Watch 2018, 2019 and 2020. In 2017, he curated “The Art of Winter” at S.P.A.C.E. Gallery in Burlington, Vermont. In 2018, Kadour curated “Revolutionary Paths: Critical Issues in Collage” at Antenna Gallery in New Orleans, which bought together collage artists whose work represents the potential for deeper inquiry and further curatorial exploration of the medium; followed in 2019 by “Cultural Deconstructions: Critical Issues in Collage” at LeMieux Galleries in New Orleans, which furthered the conversation; and “Amuse Bouche”, also at LeMieux Galleries in 2023. Since 2018, he has produced Kolaj Fest New Orleans, a multi-day festival & symposium about contemporary collage and its role in art, culture, and society. As Curator of Contemporary Art at Rokeby Museum in Ferrisburgh, Vermont in 2019 and 2020, he curated three exhibitions, “Rokeby Through the Lens” (May 19-June 16, 2019), “Structures” (August 24-October 27, 2019), and “Mending Fences: New Works by Carol MacDonald” (July 12-October 25, 2020). He also curated “Contemporary American Regionalism: Vermont Perspectives” (August 17-October 20, 2019); “Where the Sun Casts No Shadow: Postcards from the Creative Crossroads of Quito, Ecuador” (November 1-30, 2019); and “Many Americas” (August 20-November 27, 2022) in the Wilson Museum & Galleries at the Southern Vermont Arts Center. “The Money $how”, co-curated with Frank Juarez, was presented at the AIR Space Gallery at Saint Kate-The Arts Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (April 10-September 12, 2021). For Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival in Birr, County Offaly, Ireland (August 13-20, 2021), he curated “Empty Columns Are a Place to Dream”, which traveled to the Knoxville Museum of Art in January-February 2022. At 516 ARTS in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Kadour co-curated with Alicia Inez Guzmàn two exhibitions: “Many Worlds Are Born” (February 19-May 14, 2022) and “Technologies of the Spirit” (June 11-September 3, 2022). In 2023 at the Knoxville Museum of Art, Kadour curated “Where the Sun Casts No Shadow: Postcards from the Creative Crossroads of Quito, Ecuador” (January 9-February 16, 2023) and “Mythical Landscape: Secrets of the Vale” (March 17-May 28, 2023). In September 2023, he curated “Word of Mouth: Folklore, Community and Collage” at A’ the Airts in Sanquhar, Scotland. His first short film, The Covenant of Schwitters’ Army, debuted at Collage on Screen during Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2023. His second, Joy Is Paper, debuted at Collage on Screen during Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2024.
Kadour is the editor and publisher of Kolaj Magazine. He has written for a number of galleries and his writing has appeared in Hyperallergic, OEI, Vermont Magazine, Seven Days, Seattle Weekly, Art New England (where he was the former Vermont editor) and many others. Kadour maintains an active art practice and his photography, collage, and sculpture have been exhibited in and are part of private collections in Australia, Europe and North America. In January-February 2020, he was artist-in-residence at MERZ Gallery in Sanquhar, Scotland. He holds a BA in Comparative Religion from the University of Vermont. Kadour splits his time between Montreal and New Orleans. www.rickasinikadour.com