CALL FOR PRESENTERS
COLLAGE::BOOKS Symposium: The Book as a Place of collage
DEADLINE TO SUBMIT: Sunday, 24 August 2025
Kolaj Institute is partnering with ARCMTL to produce a full day symposium on the subject of collage and the book on Friday, 3 October 2025 in Montreal. The symposium will be a part of VOLUME 8 MTL, Montreal’s annual conference and fair devoted to art publishing and artists’ books. VOLUME 8 MTL presents works and programming in both English and French, including artists and publishers from all over Canada, the US and elsewhere.
The Symposium will be part of a series of events for collage artists that will take place 2-5 October 2024. These events will run parallel to the events organized as part of VOLUME MTL and include collage making, visits to book collections, and networking.
PROSPECTUS
At Kolaj Institute, we see The Book as a place to experience collage and, therefore, maintain an active inquiry into this subject. The online Collage Books Directory organizes, documents, and catalogues books in which collage plays an important role. Collage Publishing Workshop is one part of three core workshops that make up Kolaj Institute’s Artist Development program. Kolaj Magazine regularly features book reviews of collage books and publishing projects. The literary journal PoetryXCollage publishes artwork and writing which operates at the intersection of poetry and collage. Kolaj Institute works with Maison Kasini Canada/Kasini House to publish books and periodicals that document and diffuse ideas that deepen our understanding of collage as a medium, a genre, a community, and a 21st century movement. Books are often the outcome of residencies, fellowships, and other projects.
In 2019, Kolaj Magazine convened a symposium at VOLUME 2 MTL, the city’s conference and fair devoted to books on art and artists’ books. The symposium resulted in the publication, The Book as a Place of Collage, which used examples from the magazine’s collection of collage books and work by presenters at the symposium, to trace the history of collage publishing, offers a taxonomy of various publishing activities, and discusses the function of the book in art practice, for art professionals, for viewer or collector. The book included a statement identifying strategies for supporting the book as a means of distribution and (like exhibition) as a viable and respected part of an artist’s practice.
In 2025, Kolaj Institute is returning to the topic of The Book as a Place of Collage and is inviting artists, gallerists, writers, poets, publishers, academic researchers to join this conversation. We would like to hear from those who wish to present a paper, practice, or book at this symposium. We are particularly interested in presentations about published books (self or otherwise) where collage plays a central role. Additional topics may include publishing as artist practice (by historical or contemporary artists); a gallery’s experience of publishing exhibition catalogs; zine making as artist practice; collage as illustration; collaborative projects from the International Collage Community; curatorial projects that resulted in books; artist books, book sculpture, and other instances where the book as object plays a central role; unbound books and other types of unbound publishing projects; and artists working at the intersection of poetry and collage. This list is not exhaustive and we welcome submissions that expand our thinking on this subject.
In addition to the Symposium, presenters will be invited to exhibit (and sell) their books at VOLUME MTL’s book fair as part of a collective table organized and staffed by Kolaj Institute. (Those interested in their own tables are welcome to apply directly to VOLUME MTL.)
Symposium Program Overview
Collage and the Book
The day begins with a session in which we frame the conversation about collage and the book. Ric Kasini Kadour presents an overview of the various types of books collage artists make. He compares the book against the exhibition as a means of diffusion and offers a taxonomy of various books and publishing activities. He concludes with a discussion of the role of the book in art practice, for art professionals, for viewer or collector.
Presentations
The bulk of the day is made up of presentations that will be organized as a series of panels with ample time for questions and discussion.
Strategy Session
In the final session, we identify strategies for supporting the book as a means of distribution. The final session will be structured in a way that articulates general strategies and recommendations to artists, galleries, art centres, museums, libraries, and booksellers and will build on the strategies laid out in the 2019 Symposium Report.
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION: One should only apply to be a presenter if they are planning on attending The COLLAGE::BOOKS Symposium. (If you cannot attend, consider submitting to Kolaj Magazine another way. MORE INFO)
The deadline to submit is Sunday, 24 August 2025.
Submissions will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. We will notify accepted presenters via email no later than 29 August 2025.
SUBMIT HERE
About Kolaj Institute
The mission of Kolaj Institute is to support artists, curators, and writers who seek to study, document, & 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 is a 501c3 Non-profit organization registered in the State of Louisiana, USA. www.kolajinstitute.org
About Kolaj Magazine
Kolaj Magazine is a quarterly, printed magazine about contemporary collage. We are interested in how collage is made, how collage is exhibited, and how collage is collected. We are interested in the role collage plays in contemporary visual culture. This full colour, internationally-oriented art magazine is published in Montreal, Quebec by Maison Kasini Canada. www.kolajmagazine.com
About VOLUME 8 MTL
VOLUME 8 MTL: Art and the Book is Montreal’s annual conference and fair devoted to art publishing and artists’ books. VOLUME 8 MTL presents works and programming in both English and French, including artists and publishers from all over Canada, the US and elsewhere. www.volumemtl.art
Want to exhibit at the fair? VOLUME 8 MTL: ART AND THE BOOK, the eighth edition of this annual gathering around art publishing and artists’ books returns to Montreal 30 September-5 October 2025, including an art book fair on 4 and 5 October. The application form for exhibitors is now online at https://volumemtl.art/en/register Deadline: September 14, 2025.
About ARCMTL
ARCMTL is a non-profit organization that both promotes and preserves the work of independent artists. It has hosted the huge Expozine small press fair annually since 2002, and has been a co-organizer of the Montreal Printed Arts Festival and the Grande Print Art Fair since 2016. It also has operated the Distroboto network of art-vending machines since 2001 and launched VOLUME MTL in 2018. www.arcmtl.org