WORKSHOP AT KOLAJ FEST NEW ORLEANS 2024
The Recycle Challenge Crafting Session
Sunday, 16 June 2024, 1-4PM
New Orleans Healing Center
Madera Rogers-Henry & Crew
EVENT WEBSITE | REGISTER
Kolaj Fest New Orleans is a multi-day festival and symposium about contemporary collage and its role in art, culture, and society, 12-16 June 2024. Visit the website to learn more, see an overview of the program, and register to attend.
Collage artists are by nature recyclers. Madera E. Rogers-Henry of The Recycle Challenge will lead a 90-minute workshop during which participants will repurpose trash into wearable hats.
The Recycle Challenge is “a multinational initiative that celebrates the richness of diversity and is committed to fostering an inclusive environment that respects and values individuals of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Locally based in New Orleans, we reach global partners from Nigeria to the Congo.” The organization offers hands-on experiences that fuse cultural art with upcycling. Their crafting sessions foster creativity, teach collaboration, and leave participants with a sense of accomplishment. Working as a team, participants fold, layer paper, infuse cardboard and shape each hat, they showcase their creativity and learn new crafting techniques. The end result is a display of individual and collective craftsmanship, celebrated through a mini hat parade. This session promotes inclusivity, enhances communication, and problem-solving skills, and instills a sense of pride and unity among participants. “Take the green journey step to celebrate effective and fun solutions to reducing the trash that would ultimately go to landfills.”
ARTIST BIO
Originally from El Paso, Texas, New Orleans-based artist Madera E. Rogers-Henry uses collage incorporating recycled materials to create large-scale canvases, masks, paper dresses, jewelry and hand fans. Her work has been shown around New Orleans and is in many private collections. She is the founder and director of The Recycle Challenge. Through community workshops and making events, including The Green Bean Parade, The Paper Parade, and the The Recycle Challenge: St. Claude Avenue Festival, the project addresses a serious global need to reduce waste, and transform waste into viable products or vibrant works of art. www.the-recycle-challenge.com and on Instagram @the1recyclechallenge.
Kolaj Fest New Orleans is a multi-day festival and symposium about contemporary collage and its role in art, culture, and society, 12-16 June 2024. Visit the website to learn more, see an overview of the program, and register to attend.