HAPPENING AT KOLAJ FEST NEW ORLEANS
Trash as Material: Visit The Green Project
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
Noon to 3PM
at The Green Project, 2831 Marais Street, New Orleans 70117
You can call it refuse or detritus or reclaimed materials or recycling or you can call it what it is, Trash. In collage, materials are never neutral. From how they are sourced to how they are used, the material a collage is made of shapes the story and experience of the artwork. In October 2025, Kolaj Institute opened an inquiry into Trash as Material. We brought together six artists in New Orleans to visit The Green Project and learn about how they process unwanted building materials and waste paint. The artists made artwork that was part of the exhibition, “Trash as Material” at Kolaj Institute Gallery 25 October to 29 November 2025. A Virtual Artist Residency took place in November & December 2025 with an eye towards a second exhibition in 2026 and a book in 2027.
In this project, we take a liberal view of Trash and posit that Trash is an Idea, a liminal state thinking about material objects where one person sees the object as unwanted and discards it. The project is interested in the role artists play as they intercede on that liminal state and transform Trash into artist material. We are also interested in how artwork made with Trash moves through the Art Ecosystem.
Since 1994, The Green Project organization has promoted “a culture of creative reuse by diverting usable materials from landfills and cultivating a respect for their value.” They operate a salvage store and paint recycling program in the Bywater. They wrote, “By selling used and teaching about reuse, we are able to provide affordable materials to the community, host low-cost and free workshops, keep usable goods out of the landfill and nearby waterways, preserve historic architectural pieces and educate residents about environmental issues.” Their Paint Recycling Program was the first of its kind in the Gulf South. They wrote, “We collect and recycle usable latex and water-based paint, mixing it into new, one-of-a-kind colors. Each year, we divert 40,000 gallons of paint from improper disposal in local ecosystems and from unnecessary incineration. In 2018, over 1,000 gallons of paint was recycled and used by organizations and schools for their projects.”
During this event, Kolaj Fest New Orleans participants are invited to meet with Erin Genrich, Environmental Education Coordinator at The Green Project where several artists in the 2025 exhibition sourced materials for their artworks. Genrich will speak about her experience working with the artists and the role The Green Project plays in redirecting trash in New Orleans away from landfills. The first hour will be an informative tour of the project’s facilities after which, those who are interested are invited to stay and work with Genrich as she process and experiments with recycled paint. (Note: If you stay for the second part this visit, please wear clothes and shoes you can get messy.)
For those artists interested in joining the Trash as Materials Project, we will be opening calls to artists for virtual and in-person group residencies in late June and collaborating on a solo residency at The Green Project and Kolaj Institute, all with an eye towards an exhibition that will take place in Fall 2026.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Originally from the Midwest, Erin Genrich is the Environmental Education Coordinator at New Orleans’ The Green Project and has been teaching environmental education there since 2013. With the heart of a mad scientist, but the mind of an English major, she developed the M.E.S.S. Lab (Math, English Language Arts, Science and Social Studies) as a way to give kids and community members a transparent and hands on recycling experience using paint as a medium. In an effort to support The Green Project’s mission to cultivate a respect for reclaimed materials while diverting landfill waste, much of her job involves imagining how trash can be used creatively, connecting with others who share a similar vision and figuring out ways to get folks interested in the concept. Learn more about The Green Project at www.thegreenproject.org.