CALL TO NEW ORLEANS ARTISTS
Is This Your Chicken? An Exhibition of New Orleans Collage Artists
at Kolaj Institute Gallery
2374 Saint Claude Avenue, Suite 230
New Orleans, Louisiana 70117, USA
19 August to 26 September 2026
Deadline to submit: Sunday, 2 August 2026
“Is This Your Chicken?” is an exhibition of collage made by artists who live in or around New Orleans. The title is a refrain frequently found on message boards and in social media groups focused on New Orleans neighborhoods that reflects the phenomenon of wild chickens that roam our streets and drug store parking lots.
“Part folklore, part urban legend, part daily reality, ‘Is This Your Chicken?’ is the sort of phrase that we recognize as our own,” said Kolaj Institute Director and exhibition curator Ric Kasini Kadour. Collage, like New Orleans, which often plays with the absurdity of life, nonsense, frivolity, and fun, can also take on serious issues and help us make sense of a fragmented world. In this exhibition, we consider how artists from the city are using collage.
KEY INFORMATION & DATES
Kolaj Institute seeks collage artwork from the greater New Orleans area. Our aim is not to gatekeep but to represent collage from our corner of the world. (We will consider you even if you live in Houma; don’t be shy.) We take a broad view of collage and will consider analogue collage, assemblage, quilting, fabric sculpture, photomontage, digital collage, décollage, etc. At Kolaj Institute, we don’t define collage, rather, we ask, How is this artwork a collage? If you have an answer to that question, you should be set.
We are open to any subject. While the subject does not have to be specific to New Orleans or poultry-related issues, we are partial to artwork that expresses New Orleans as a people, place and culture.
Artwork will be presented with a single gallery card noting the title, dimensions, materials, year, and price of the artwork. To submit artwork for consideration, please complete the online form that will ask for:
- Title of artwork, dimensions (hxw), materials, year, price, and description of frame.
- A high-resolution image (1000 pixels wide or greater).
- Artist Statement & Artist Bio
Artists may submit up to three artworks.
Deadline to submit: Sunday, 2 August 2026
We will notify artists no later than Friday, 7 August 2026.
Artwork Delivery: Thursday, 13 August to Saturday, 15 August 2026
Note: Selected Artwork must be delivered no later than 6PM on Saturday, 15 August 2026. Artwork can be delivered before 13 August 2026 by appointment. To arrange delivery outside of the delivery window, send an email to seth@kolajinstitute.org.
Installation: Week of 16 August 2026
Kolaj Institute staff will install the exhibition the week of 16 August 2026. If you wish to volunteer and lend a hand, please send an email to seth@kolajinstitute.org.
Opening & Viewing Dates: Saturday, 22 August 2026, 4-6PM
We will hold an afternoon opening reception on Saturday, 22 August 2026, 4-6PM. The exhibition will be viewable from Noon to 6PM, Thursday through Saturday until 26 September 2026 and by appointment. On Saturday 12 September 2026, the gallery will be open until 8PM as part of the St. Claude/Bywater Second Saturday. Feel free to come and invite your people.
Sale of Artwork
Kolaj Institute will handle the sale of artwork. Artists will set the price. Artists will be paid 60% of the sale price. The sales commission of 40% will be used to support community workshops and future exhibitions at Kolaj Institute, a 501c3 non-profit organization. Buyers who want the artwork shipped will be charged an additional fee ($25-75) depending on the size of the artwork.
De-Installation & Collection of Artwork: Sunday, 27 September 2026, 1PM to 5PM
We will de-install the exhibition starting at 1PM. Please make arrangements to come in and collect any unsold artwork that day. If you cannot collect your artwork on that date, please make prior arrangements by sending an email to seth@kolajinstitute.org Any uncollected artwork (or artwork where prior arrangements to be collected are not made) will become the property of Kolaj Institute.
SUBMIT YOUR ARTWORK
Use the form HERE
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 is a 501c3 Non-profit organization registered in the State of Louisiana, USA. Kolaj Institute is located in the Marigny neighborhood, at the corner of Saint Claude and Saint Roch Avenues, part of the New Orleans Healing Center, where it operates an art gallery and a residency space, and is home to Kolaj Institute’s offices. www.kolajinstitute.org