COLLAGE ON VIEW
Kolaj Institute Grand Opening Exhibition and Reception
at Kolaj Institute Gallery
2374 Saint Claude Avenue, Suite 230 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA [MAP]
9 March-14 April 2024
Grand Opening Reception: 9 March 2024, 6-9PM
RSVP HERE
Since 2011, Kolaj Magazine has documented and reported on the International Collage Movement. In 2019, the publishers of the magazine created Kolaj Institute to support artists, curators, and writers who seek to study, document, and disseminate ideas that deepen our understanding of collage as a medium, a genre, a community, and a 21st century movement. The non-profit organization operates a number of initiatives meant to bring together community, investigate critical issues, and raise collage’s standing in the art world. In January, Kolaj Institute moved into a 1200-square-foot space in the New Orleans Healing Center on the corner of St. Claude and St. Roch Avenues. The space serves as an exhibition gallery, residency center, artist studio, library and archive. The center’s Grand Opening is Saturday, 9 March 2024, joining other art venues in the St. Claude Arts District for Second Saturday Art Walk.
As part of the grand opening celebration for Kolaj Institute’s new home, Kolaj Institute is mounting an exhibition of artwork that is part of Kolaj Institute’s collection. This includes New Orleans artists such as Michael Pajón, Bianca Walker, and Kolaj Institute Director Ric Kasini Kadour. Members of the Mystic Krewe of Scissors and Glue will exhibit a collection of collaborative artworks. Artwork from Kolaj Institute’s past projects will also be on view, including from Artists in the Archives, Empty Columns Are a Place to Dream, Folklore & Collage, and Politics in Collage. Also on view will be Standard Processes in Dressmaking, a collaged altered book by nine members of the International Collage Community. Other artwork from Kolaj Institute’s collection in the exhibition is being curated by participants in the Curating Collage Workshop. A display of Kolaj Institute’s books will be on view and for sale.
The exhibition tells the story of Kolaj Institute and how the organization works with the International Collage Community to champion this fascinating medium.
“Our work is premised by the belief that artwork can pick up the unfinished work of history and contribute to our civic discourse,” said Kolaj Institute Director Ric Kasini Kadour. “We believe that when you turn the axis of art history from painting and sculpture to collage, the art canon opens up to women, people of color, queer people, and others not typically represented in the traditional academic approach.”
During the Grand Opening Reception, Kolaj Institute’s first Solo Artist-in-Residence, Daniela Ruiz Perez, will be available to speak about the work she has been doing in New Orleans. A mixed media assembly artist from metropolitan Washington, DC, Ruiz Perez is researching the wetlands of Louisiana and making artwork that will be shown in an exhibition focusing on environmental art at Kolaj Institute’s Gallery in April and May 2024.
On Saturday, 9 March 2024, the gallery will be open from Noon to 9PM, with a reception from 6PM to 9PM. The Gallery is located at 2374 Saint Claude Avenue, Suite 230, at the corner with St. Roch Avenue. (The door is located to the right of the Peach Cobbler Factory.) In March, the gallery will be open by appointment and those interested in visiting should send an email to info@kolajinstitute.org to make arrangements.