CALL TO ARTISTS
Art Writing Workshop
A four-week, virtual/online workshop with Kolaj Institute
Next Session: Saturdays, 11 April-2 May 2026, 1-3PM EDT
Final Deadline for the Next Session: Sunday, 5 April 2026
We’ve all struggled with artist statements and bios. Art is inherently visual and outside of language. Its very nature and purpose is to communicate ineffable human qualities—qualities that cannot simply be expressed in language: raw emotion; undeveloped ideas about the nature of the universe; unspeakable suffering or anger; passion and lust, to name a few. And yet, writing about art is essential to artist practice. The ability to successfully communicate about your work is critical to your career and can make the difference between grant funding, gallery representation, media coverage, a sale, or not. More importantly, texts about your art may be a critical companion to the work itself. Texts build context for our artwork and are essential to engaging with other art professionals in the ecosystem.
Art writing is not like other forms of exposition. Writing about collage is different from writing about other mediums. In this workshop, participants will work together to develop practical techniques for writing about their artwork. We will examine the nature of artist statements, biographies, proposals, art reviews, and other forms of writing about art. Participants will practice writing object descriptions, explore how to draw stories out of artwork; and consider how using alternative forms of text creation like poetry, personal essay, and found text can build context for their artwork. The workshop will unfold through virtual presentations and group discussions and through readings and sharing texts in process. The workshop is facilitated by Kolaj Magazine Editor Ric Kasini Kadour and guest speaker Danielle Krysa, collage artist and author of seven books, will share her experience writing about art.
OUTCOME
Participants will leave the workshop with a revitalized artist statement and bio and a set of strategies for incorporating art writing into their artist practice.
Art Writing is part of Kolaj Institute’s Artist Development Program, a collection of four 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 Art Writing 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
Saturday, 11 April 2026, 1-3PM EDT
Saturday, 18 April 2026, 1-3PM EDT
Saturday, 25 April 2026, 1-3PM EDT
Saturday, 2 May 2026, 1-3PM EDT
QUESTIONS
If you have questions, send an email.
GUEST SPEAKER
Danielle Krysa
Danielle Krysa holds BFA in Visual Arts from The University of Victoria, and a post-grad in graphic design from Sheridan Collage. She is the writer/curator behind The Jealous Curator (est. 2009), and has curated art shows from Washington DC to Los Angeles, San Francisco to Toronto. Krysa’s collages combine found images, paint, and as much humor as she can pack into each title. She has written seven books: Creative Block, Collage (reviewed in Kolaj 10), Your Inner Critic Is a Big Jerk, A Big Important Art Book (Now With Women) (reviewed in Kolaj 24), How to Spot an Artist (This Might Get Messy) (News & Notes in Kolaj 30), Art and Joy: Best Friends Forever, and Real Artists Wear Black (and Other Lies About Being Creative), which is coming out in October 2026. She was a guest speaker at the first Kolaj Fest New Orleans in 2018 and has also spoken at TEDx, PIXAR, Creative Mornings, CreativeLive, and in several video interviews on oprah.com. The Jealous Curator has been featured by Oprah Magazine/oprah.com, Brain Pickings, Fast Company, Apartment Therapy, Sunset Magazine, Frankie Magazine, InsideOut Magazine, Flow Magazine, The Vancouver Sun, and Glamour Paris, among others. The artist lives and works in a small town in British Columbia, Canada. Learn more on Instagram @thejealouscurator.
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. He is the editor and publisher of Kolaj Magazine. He has written for a number of galleries and his writing has appeared in Hyperallergic, OEI, Wissenschaft & Frieden, Vermont Magazine, Seven Days, Seattle Weekly, Art New England (where he was the former Vermont editor) and many others. He has curated exhibitions in Ireland, Louisiana, New Mexico, Scotland, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wisconsin. He is the founding Director and curator of Kolaj Institute, where he has curated 5-6 exhibitions per year since 2022. 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.
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 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 in Sanquhar, Scotland. He holds a BA in Comparative Religion from the University of Vermont. Learn more at www.rickasinikadour.com.