PROJECT AT KOLAJ FEST NEW ORLEANS 2025

Special Agent Collage Collective’s
Mission 27: Locative Kolaj

PROJECT SUMMARY

Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2025 was a multi-day festival and symposium about contemporary collage and its role in art, culture, and society that took place 25-29 June. (Visit the website to learn more and see an overview of the program.) Special Agent Collage Collective issued a mission during Kolaj Fest New Orleans: Locative Collage. “The goal was for participants to create a collage that was temporarily placed into the Kolaj Fest environment in some way, whether that’s on the street, at a venue, or other place where someone may encounter it.”

“Locative collage requires three things: a collage fragment (or collection of fragments), a physical environment to create or suggest context, and a way to capture the temporary arrangement. It is not simply taking a photo of any collage,” wrote Special Agent Collage Collective. “What gives locative collage its storytelling power is the interaction between the collaged elements and thoughtful, intentional placement.”

To complete the challenge, artists uploaded a photo to Special Agent Collage Collective’s mission upload portal. For those artists for whom it was their first completed challenge, they received membership and their own Special Agent number. Thirty-seven artists responded to the mission.

ZINE

In January 2026, Kolaj Institute published Locative Kolaj by The Special Agent Collage Collective, which features a selection of the works made during the mission. Contributing Artists include Cheryl Chudyk (Kirkland, Washington, USA) | Dawn Conry (Phoenix, Arizona, USA) | Charmi Shah (Redmond, Washington, USA) | Nellie Seigel (Chicago, Illinois, USA) | Jennifer Roche (Chicago, Illinois, USA) | Dawn Hudson (Scottsdale, Arizona, USA) | Craig Auge (Raytown, Missouri, USA) | Clive Knights (Portland, Oregon, USA) | Brian Moss (Santa Monica, California, USA) | LaVonna Varnado Brown (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) | Belenna Mesa Lauto (Hicksville, New York, USA) | Erica Trabold (Lynchburg, Virginia, USA) | Jody Zellen (Santa Monica, California, USA) | Paloma Shaloma (Chicago, Illinois, USA) | Christopher Kurts (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) | Kathryn Kim (Seattle, Washington, USA) | Kelly Moran (Houston, Texas, USA) | Robert A. Schaefer, Jr. (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) | Bev Thames (Lakeway, Texas, USA) | Claudia Lynch (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) | Jennifer Myhre (Sedona, Arizona, USA) Keren Taylor (Blaine, Washington, USA) | Kerrie Bellisario (Lafayette, Indiana, USA) | Monica Church (Poughkeepsie, New York, USA) | Debora Joy Nodelman (Chino Hills, California, USA) | Suzanne Gore (Boise, Idaho, USA) | Jennella Young (Brooklyn, New York, USA) | Jordan Cerminara (Beaverton, Oregon, USA) | Re Howse (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) | Laura Cannamela (Valatie, New York, USA) | Christine Karapetian (Jackson Heights, New York, USA) | Madeline Sorel (Brooklyn, New York, USA) | Colleen Coleman (Brooklyn, New York, USA) | Robin S Roberts (San Diego, California, USA) | Sue Thomas (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) | Andrea Lewicki (Carnation, Washington, USA) | Ric Kasini Kadour (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA)

DETAILS: 40 pages | 7″x5″ | saddle-stitched booklet | ISBN 978-1-927587-75-1 | 2025 | Published by Kolaj Institute & Kasini House

PURCHASE THE ZINE

EXHIBITION

A poster about the project is included in the exhibition “Pictures at the Intersection of Photography & Collage” at Kolaj Institute Gallery in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA through 24 January 2026. All of the artworks in this exhibition are examples of artists working at the intersection of collage and photography. Each of these approaches leads to more complex storytelling that pushes the limits of traditional photography and collage. “The intersection of collage and photography is not like a simple crossroads where two streets meet,” wrote exhibition curator and Kolaj Institute Director Ric Kasini Kadour, “It’s more like a round-about where many paths come together before shooting off in different directions. The deeper one gets into this inquiry, the more road metaphors fail. It may be more helpful to think of the intersection of collage and photography as neuropathways or mycelium.” LEARN MORE

WHAT IS LOCATIVE COLLAGE?

A locative collage is what is made when an artist photographs a fragment or a collection of fragments out in the world. The fragments may be left behind for others to find, at which point it becomes a kind of street art, or the artist may reuse the fragments in other works as part of a series. The resulting artwork exists as a photographic document of a moment, a collage between the paper world and the natural world. A well-known example of locative collage is French street artist JR’s 2017 “Migrants, Picnic Across the Border” project that included a giant baby peeking over a border wall into the United States from Tecate, Mexico. In Kolaj 30, we profiled Norwegian artist miss.printed, who has been making locative collage around Europe since 2014. Locative collage makes an appearance in Kolaj Institute’s Photography & Collage Project which included Jan Kather’s “Reframing the Lackawanna Trail” locative collage series and the exhibition, “Pictures at the Intersection of Photography & Collage“, at Kolaj Institute Gallery in New Orleans, 10 December 2025-24 January 2026. The zine, Locative Collage by the Special Agent Collage Collective, was published in January 2026.

ABOUT SPECIAL AGENT COLLAGE COLLECTIVE

Since 2021, Andrea Lewicki has operated the Special Agent Collage Collective, an international collection of collage artists who complete special missions and share them on social media. “SACC was created to interact with other collage artists and enjoy the magic that can unfold from a few scraps of paper, a sharp blade, and a fresh glue stick. We participate in theme-based collage challenges, public art drops, and other interactive activities.” wrote Lewicki. “A membership card and Special Agent number are earned by completing a mission. The collective enthusiastically welcomes new members.” Special Agents are longtime hobbyists, college students, authors, filmmakers, scientists, accomplished professional artists, and collage newcomers. “The compulsion to cut and paste is strong with us.” WEBSITE

ABOUT KOLAJ FEST NEW ORLEANS

Kolaj Fest New Orleans is a multi-day festival and symposium about contemporary collage and its role in art, culture, and society that takes place each June. Visit the website to learn more and see an overview of the program.