COLLAGE ON VIEW
Big Orange Monster: An Emergency Collage Exhibition
at Kolaj Institute Gallery in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
10 September-18 October 2025
Opening Reception: 13 September 2025, 6-8PM
during Second Saturday in the Bywater Artwalk
RSVP FOR THE OPENING RECEPTION
At the heart of this exhibition at Kolaj Institute Gallery in New Orleans is collage made and sent to the gallery in response to an open call to artists: “You mix fear (yellow) and anger (red) and you get a Big Orange Monster. What’s the emergency? There are a lot of Big Orange Monsters on the loose. Monsters only have power if you are afraid of them. So let’s create a space where we can slay our fear of Big Orange Monsters. Art helps us exorcise our demons. Monsters can be glorious and wonderful or horrible and evil. Let’s not cast aside the good Big Orange Monsters because some other Big Orange Monsters are well…unpleasant.”
Artists sent 128 collages from 13 countries: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mexico, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the United States. Nine artists from New Orleans contributed works to the exhibition. We ask visitors to the gallery to take care and not feed the monsters, some of which have been installed behind a protective iron gate for everyone’s safety.
These are not normal times: Of the 128 collages sent, five monsters are trapped at international borders due to the effects of the current administration’s tariff policies. Three monsters have escaped, most likely due to our poorly run Postal Service which is also under duress due to the current administration’s policies. These artworks are represented by Missing Posters and will be added to the gallery should they arrive.
Other moments in the exhibition include Michael Pajon’s Your Own Personal Demons, part of the New Orleans artist’s “Monstros” series, and a selection of political collage that San Francisco-based artist Jenna Strouth made as she reflected and responded to current events during Februllage 2025. Februllage is an annual, international collage making event organized by The Edinburgh Collage Collective and The Scandinavian Collage Museum, which issue one-word prompts for each day of the month. Collage artists make art based on a day’s prompt and share their work on social media. Strouth paired the Februllage daily prompts with the news of the day. She wrote, “I collage to process my shock at the present and my anxiety about the future. Dread is constant for me. I make myself laugh a little with these absurd compositions.”
On view are three of Castlebar, Ireland collage artist Anthony D Kelly’s “Rare Monster Sightings”. Assuming the role of Researcher, each of the collages in the series is accompanied by fictional reports written by Kelly. In the voice of the project, he wrote, “To research and develop our Rare Monster Sighting Archives we scour the worlds greatest Libraries, acquire the most deeply classified military documents and trade in the most exotic black markets to uncover, catalogue and record these rarest of beasts in the annals of our archives. Whilst (hopefully) most of these creatures have disappeared many moons ago, we are committed to recording their details here in case we ever encounter their Ilk again.”
“Collage has a long history of satirizing power. The art movement Dada rose from the ashes of World War I and, as such, the artists were intensely political. Authoritarians and their supporters don’t understand humor and complexity; two things collage is good at offering us,” wrote curator and Kolaj Institute Director Ric Kasini Kadour. “And while that is certainly part of this exhibition, it is not the full story. Artists made Big Orange Monster collages about cancer, the environment, and the patriarchy. They also made Big Orange Monsters to comfort and protect us during difficult times. In this exhibition are creatures of fear and beasts of wonder. Some are serious, some are angry, some are funny, yet all contain a call for kindness and grace. Our hope in sharing these is that we create a space for the community to think about the monsters in our world and ultimately, what we are going to do about them. We may not be able to change the world but we can always change ourselves.”
“Big Orange Monster: An Emergency Collage Exhibition” is an example of the International Collage Community operating as a 21st century art movement. From large-scale, collaborative efforts by internationally networked groups of artists to individual or small group efforts centered around projects, collage artists often operate without regard for art institutions and markets, creating their own ecosystems for cultural exchange and engagement. They create communities. They make artwork. They publish books and organize exhibitions. Like the medium itself, the movement is often misunderstood by an art world that emphasizes individual authorship, market value, and the mythology of the solitary artist. To consider this International Collage Community–and the thousands of artists engaged in it–as an Art Movement raises questions about the art world’s branding and gatekeeping of what an Art Movement is.
The Gallery is located at 2374 Saint Claude Avenue, Suite 230, at the corner with St. Roch Avenue above the Peach Cobbler Factory. The Gallery is open Thursday-Saturday, Noon-6PM or by appointment and until 8PM on Second Saturday.
RSVP FOR THE OPENING RECEPTION
Big Orange Monster Contributing Artists
Kirill Abdrakhmanov (Berlin, Germany) | Tatiana Almond (Oskemen, Kazakhstan) | Cathy Aster (Portland, Oregon, USA) | Craig Auge (Raytown, Missouri, USA) | Lisa Bain (West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA) | Jennifer Bartlett (Palm Springs, California, USA) | Wendy Bartlett (Palm Springs, California, USA) | Debi A Barton (Bellows Falls, Vermont, USA) | Aaron Beatty (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) | Geri Biamonte (Park Forest, Illinois, USA) | Jaime Bird (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) | Angela Black (Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA) | Peter Blundell (Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom) | Daria Boudanova (Vienna, Austria) | Erika Bournet Delbosc (Sabres, France) | Loralei R. Byatt (Detroit, Michigan, USA) | Kira Cahill (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) | Mary Campbell (Staten Island, New York, USA) | Sarah Carragher (South Hadley, Massachusetts, USA) | Dara Cerv (Brooklyn, New York, USA) | Belinda Chlouber (San Mateo, California, USA) | María Elena Cholula (Mexico City, Mexico) | Denise Clemen (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) | Chad Colby (Durango, Colorado, USA) | Dawn Conry (Phoenix, Arizona, USA) | Paulina Constancia (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) | CYANonymous (Kirkland, Washington, USA) | Robin Dann (Brooklyn, New York, USA) | Nadine Defranoux (San Francisco, California, USA) | Emily Denlinger (Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA) | Nakeshia Diop (Seattle, Washington, USA) | Johnette Downing (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) | Kristian Eldritch (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) | Jennifer Evans (Denver, Colorado, USA) | Kathi Everett (Batavia, New York, USA) | Linda Feula (Hackettstown, New Jersey, USA) | Joshua Field (Gainesboro, Tennessee, USA) | William Fisher (Savannah, Georgia, USA) | Kelli Foss (Capitola, California, USA) | Torea Frey (Clackamas, Oregon, USA) | Andrew Fung (Kirkland, Washington, USA) | zanahoy Gallant (Stillwater Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada) | Lorraine Gamble (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) | John Gardner (Sauquoit, New York, USA) | Gayle Gerson (Grand Junction, Colorado, USA) | Katy Giebenhain (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA) | Lela Goldstein (Eugene, Oregon, USA) | Suzanne Gore (Boise, Idaho, USA) | Clark Graham (Fitchburg, Massachusetts, USA) | Cathie Haab (Hudson, Illinois, USA) | Sara Hannon (Austin, Texas, USA) | CP Harrison (Round Rock, Texas, USA) | Heidi Hickman (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) | Gregory Hom (Oakland, California, USA) | Laura Iseley (Mebane, North Carolina, USA) | Karen Jakobsen (Paris, France) | Una Janicijevic (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) | Betsy Jones (Stillwater, Pennsylvania, USA) | Bibi Jordan (Amsterdam, Netherlands) | Ric Kasini Kadour (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) | Julie Kaliuga (Woodland Hills, California, USA) | David Karasow (Bristol, Pennsylvania, USA) | Helen Kauder (New Haven, Connecticut, USA) | Anthony D Kelly (Castlebar, Co. Mayo, Ireland) | Danielle Kessler (La Vista, Nebraska, USA) | Keith Kitz (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) | Clive Knights (Portland, Oregon, USA) | Julia Kohane (New York, New York, USA) | Laura Lacroix (Island Pond, Vermont, USA) | Mary Lanham (Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA) | Nicole Leavens (Avon, Connecticut, USA) | Patty Leinemann (Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada) | Jenn Lilly (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) | Carol Lynch (Metairie, Louisiana, USA) | Leah Madamba (Asheville, North Carolina, USA) | Bethanie Mangigian (New Orleans, LA, USA) | Marcy McChesney (San Antonio, Texas, USA) | Janice McDonald (Denver, Colorado, USA) | Kim McIver (Kirkland, Washington, USA) | Macie Menard (Lafayette, Louisiana, USA) | Júlia Mendes (Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil) | Lucia Moon (Lafayette, Louisiana, USA) | Kelly Moran (Houston, Texas, USA) | Jennifer Myhre (Sedona, Arizona, USA) | Judy Nilsen (Santa Barbara, California, USA) | Susan O’Connor (Powell, Ohio, USA) | Michèle AimPée Parent (Fort-Coulonge, Quebec, Canada) | Teresa Petersen (Detroit, Michigan, USA) | Mark Petri (Lemont, Illinois, USA) | Steph Peugh (Hillsboro, Oregon, USA) | Nanilee Robarge (San Francisco, California, USA) | Jennifer Roche (Chicago, Illinois, USA) | Margaret Rose (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) | Sophia Rosenblatt (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) | Lance Rothstein (Clearwater, Florida, USA) | Nicole Royer (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) | Judith Rubenstein (Brooklyn, New York, USA) | David Sapp (Berlin Heights, Ohio, USA) | Robert Schaefer (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) | Alexandra Schwarz (Des Moines, Iowa, USA) | Alyx Sellars (Johnson, Vermont, USA) | Sheree Shatsky (Melbourne, Florida, USA) | Lisa Sheets (Kenmore, Washington, USA) | Susan Silva (Burke, Virginia, USA) | Piyali Sircar (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) | Ginger Slonaker (Foster City, California, USA) | Heidi Smith (Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada) | Melissa Sokol (Irvine, California, USA) | Madeline Sorel (Brooklyn, New York, USA) | Sue Spencer (Grand Junction, Colorado, USA) | Lori Spitz (Seattle, Washington, USA) | Andrew Stevens (Park Forest, Illinois, USA) | April Sullivan (Austin, Texas, USA) | Kim Suttell (New York, New York, USA) | Susanne Swanson Bernard (Boise, Idaho, USA) | Kim Rae Taylor (West Palm Beach, Florida, USA) | Wendy Tigchelaar (Blue Point, New York, USA) | Cherie Savoie Tintary (Forest Grove, Oregon, USA) | Nick Tobier (Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA) | Stephen Tomasko (Akron, Ohio, USA) | Maria Turner (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) | Marjolein Vink (Haarlem, Netherlands) | Madeline Waggoner (Brandon, Mississippi, USA) | Shannon Wallace (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) | Danielle Ward (Wappingers Falls, New York, USA) | Poppy Waterman (Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom) | Christine West (Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA) | Amanda Yesilbas (Tampa, Florida, USA) | Eric Zuccola (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)
ABOUT KOLAJ INSTITUTE GALLERY
The mission of Kolaj Institute is 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. 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’s Gallery in New Orleans presents exhibitions and connects Kolaj Institute and the artists we work with to the vibrant St. Claude Arts District. We produce 8-10 exhibitions a year and participate in Second Saturday, the neighborhood’s monthly art walk, putting the collage art, books and exhibitions in front of New Orleanians and visitors. The Gallery is located at 2374 Saint Claude Avenue, Suite 230, at the corner with St. Roch Avenue above the Peach Cobbler Factory. The Gallery is open Thursday-Saturday, Noon-6PM or by appointment.