Call to Artists: Collage the Planet: Trash as Material Artist Residency
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Call to Artists: Collage the Planet: Trash as Material Artist Residency
A five-day, in-person collage artist residency in New Orleans
Virtual Sessions: Saturday, 11 October 2025, 11AM-1PM EDT and Wednesday, 15 October 2025, 7-9PM EDT
In Person: 10AM on Monday, 20 October to 3PM on Friday, 24 October 2025
Early Deadline to Apply: Sunday, 31 August 2025
Final Deadline to Apply: Sunday, 14 September 2025
You can call it refuse or detritus or reclaimed materials or recycling or you can call it what it is, Trash. In collage, materials are never neutral. From how they are sourced to how they are used, the material a collage is made of shapes the story and experience of the artwork. During the "Collage the Planet: Trash as Material Artist Residency," artists will develop a practice of using trash as materials and make artwork for an exhibition at Kolaj Institute Gallery in New Orleans.
PROSPECTUS
The premise of the "Collage the Planet: Trash as Material Artist Residency" is that science has the capacity to tell us how to care for the planet, but those solutions are meaningless if humanity doesn't care enough to evolve and change. Art is a unique technology that can distill complexity into simple human gestures that, when experienced, facilitate a deeper understanding of our world. In short, art can be a tool for caring. What role can artists play in sorting through the complex social, political, and economic dynamics that shape our discourse around the environment and leave us feeling confused and powerless? How do we sort through such complexity and develop an understanding for ourselves of what an ethical and healthy relationship with the natural world could be? What is the relationship between our individual choices and the systemic change needed to bring humanity's relationship with the natural world into harmony? How do we move beyond rhetoric, cliche, and performative actions and towards meaningful change?
In this five-day, in-person residency, collage artists will create work that explores environmentalism in art and make artwork that contributes to a broader dialogue on sustainability and ecological consciousness. Residents will reflect on the balance between human activity and the environment and explore strategies to draw attention to issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and the impact of industrialization on our planet. This residency is particularly important to New Orleans, a city deeply connected to its natural surroundings and witness to ecological challenges and natural disasters that have left indelible marks on its landscape and community.
GUEST SPEAKERS
Weymouth, Dorset, United Kingdom artist and Kolaj Institute Artist in Residence Jodie House will present her project, "Discarded & Caught", inspired by plastic bags and other litter caught in roadside bramble in the English countryside. The series invites the viewer "into the complicated relationship humans have with the world they use." House gathers litter and then works the refuse into an artwork and then places that artwork back into the landscape. The photographs of the locative collage are the final realization of the artwork. Artists in the Residency will be invited to take part in the project.
Artists will visit Erin Genrich, Environmental Education Coordinator at The Green Project. Since 1994, the organization has promoted "a culture of creative reuse by diverting usable materials from landfills and cultivating a respect for their value." They operate a salvage store and paint recycling program in the Bywater. They wrote, "By selling used and teaching about reuse, we are able to provide affordable materials to the community, host low-cost and free workshops, keep usable goods out of the landfill and nearby waterways, preserve historic architectural pieces and educate residents about environmental issues." Genrich will lead a tour of their site and speak about the work of The Green Project. Together, artists will explore ideas about how to use the materials on hand.
Ric Kasini Kadour will present an international, historic survey of artists that used trash in their work, from German Dadaist Kurt Schwitters to Brazilian artist Vik Muniz to Ghanaian artist Serge Attukwei Clottey, and speak about how materials are never neutral in collage. Kadour will also present an overview of Kolaj Institute's Politics in Collage project and share examples of how other artists have made work that spoke to environmental concerns. As the project curator, Kadour will guide artists through a process of building context for their artwork that supports its diffusion and ultimately its engagement with viewers.
OUTCOME
The goal of this residency is to support collage artists as they adapt their artist practice to speak to the complexities of environmental issues and contribute to a broader dialogue on sustainability and ecological consciousness." During the residency, artists will consider how elements of their practice (research & play, process, making, finishing, diffusion, and impact & engagement) can be adapted.
At the end of the residency, artists will be invited to submit artwork to the exhibition "Collage the Planet: Trash as Material", 25 October to 29 November 2025, at Kolaj Institute Gallery in New Orleans.
The exhibition and artist residency, "Collage the Planet: Trash as Material" is part of Kolaj Institute's project, Politics in Collage, a series of residencies, publications, discussions, and exhibitions examining complex socio-political issues that contemporary society is contending with, in order to spark meaningful dialogue and inspire deeper engagement.
WHO IS THIS FOR?
The Collage the Planet: Trash as Material Artist Residency is in-person and centered on collage artists who want to develop their artist practice. Residencies are intended for self-motivated artists, regardless of the stage in their career, who have a practice of (or want to develop a practice of) making artwork that speaks to environmental issues in their communities.
COST
The cost of the residency is $750 USD. Kolaj Institute has a limited number of grants of up to $250 available to offset the cost of the workshop for those in demonstrated need. These grants are possible through the generous support of our donors. Travel to and from New Orleans, accommodations in New Orleans, and all meals are the responsibility of the artist. Grant requests made to specifically offset these costs will not be considered.
RESIDENCY LOGISTICS
Collage the Planet: Trash as Material Artist Residency will have two Virtual Sessions (Saturday, 11 October 2025, 11AM-1PM EDT & Wednesday, 15 October 2025, 7-9PM EDT).
In-person activities take place at Kolaj Institute, 2374 Saint Claude Avenue, Suite 230, starting at 10AM, Monday, 20 October to Noon, Friday, 24 October.
Residents and faculty will come together as a group for approximately two hours each day for presentations and discussion.
Participating artists will have 24-hour access to the space from 10AM, Monday, 20 October to Noon, Friday, 24 October.
Kolaj Institute stocks general collage-making materials such as cutting mats, scissors, a variety of glues, substrates, and books and magazines. If an artist wishes to use specific materials they may be shipped in advance to the Kolaj Institute Studio & Gallery.