11″x14″; vintage magazine scraps, images from New Orleans Auction catalog, vintage sheet music, bird specimen paper; 2026. Courtesy of the artist.
COLLAGE ON VIEW
Is This Your Chicken? Collage by New Orleans Artists
at Kolaj Institute Gallery in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
19 August to 26 September 2026
Opening reception: Saturday, 22 August 2026, 4-6PM
“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.
Among the works on view is collage by participants in the Collage Class at the People Program NOLA, a non-profit organization that fosters lifelong learning and creativity in a vibrant community of seniors, founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1974. “It is a program for people, by people, joining together to share knowledge, crafts, and arts; thus, drawing from each other mental and emotional awareness, physical strength, and, above all, a new feeling of belonging and self-confidence.” This selection of artwork was organized by Collage Class instructor and Kolaj Institute volunteer Carol M. Lynch.
Artists participating in the exhibition are: Jane Ciolino | Kelly Anne Mueller | Kira Cahill | Robbie Morgan | Robert A. Schaefer, Jr. | Seth Ter Haar | Tanya DiMaggio | William Tucker | Barbara Munson | Brent Houzenga | Carmen Alcocer | Kristen Keeley White | Laurie Dievendorf | LaVonna Varnado-Brown | Linda Hart | Melinda Fuller | Nonney Oddlokken | Patrice Tafaro | Re Howse | Renee Allie | Ric Kasini Kadour | Carol M. Lynch | Chandra Leming | Christine Murphey | Deb Craine | Donna Pechon | Jamie Hughes
Among the works on view is collage by participants in the Collage Class at the People Program NOLA, a non-profit organization that fosters lifelong learning and creativity in a vibrant community of seniors, founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1974. “It is a program for people, by people, joining together to share knowledge, crafts, and arts; thus, drawing from each other mental and emotional awareness, physical strength, and, above all, a new feeling of belonging and self-confidence.” This selection of artwork was organized by Collage Class instructor and Kolaj Institute volunteer Carol M. Lynch.
Also on view is a collaborative collage made on World Collage Day 2026 at Kolaj Institute Gallery when New Orleans collage artists Bethanie Mangigian, Jaclyn McCabe, Kira Cahill, Kristen Keeley White, Carol M Lynch, and Kolaj Institute Director Ric Kasini Kadour hosted a marathon of collage making. In addition to independent collage making, volunteers and people from the community added fragments to a 24”x36” map of the world. Carol M. Lynch finished up the piece.
ABOUT KOLAJ INSTITUTE
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.
ABOUT KOLAJ INSTITUTE GALLERY IN NEW ORLEANS
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 on the 2nd floor. The marked door is on Saint Claude, look for the sandwich board sign when we are open. The Gallery is open Thursday-Saturday, Noon-6PM or by appointment.
INFORMATION
Kolaj Institute Gallery
Suite 230
2374 Saint Claude Avenue
New Orleans, Louisiana 70117 USA
Hours:
Thursday-Saturday, Noon-6PM
and by appointment