Collage Artist Lab

at Tulane University Special Collections in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Friday, 3 April-Monday, 6 April 2020

Deadline: Rolling with no applications accepted after January 5th, 2020. 

Collage Artist Lab is a four-day intensive of workshops and discussions designed to foster the integration of history and contemporary art into a collage artist’s practice.

The goal of the Collage Artist Lab is to equip artists with tools and strategies for picking up the unfinished work of history and speak to contemporary civic discourse around social, economic, and environmental issues. Through interactive sessions, collections research, and site visits with a historian, artists will explore their process and practice; present a slideshow of their work; receive supportive, critical, curatorial feedback about their ideas; and discuss contemporary issues. 

Designed with collage artists in mind, the lab considers how collagists use popular material culture in their work. The Lab will speak to issues of appropriation, copyright, and fair use and explore how the artist’s choice and understanding of material shapes the narrative of the artwork. 

Artists will complete the Lab with a project proposal for an exhibition or a book and a sample work that will be exhibited during the month of July 2020 in the Special Collections Gallery at Tulane University and will be a feature of Kolaj Fest New Orleans. Kolaj Institute will consider proposals for additional support.

Collage Artist Lab is intended for self-motivated artists, regardless of the stage in their career, who want to develop a practice of working with historic sites or history associations to create and present art that embeds itself in non-traditional spaces and speaks to a general community about contemporary issues.

CURRICULUM

BEFORE THE LAB

Accepted artists will receive a package of information about planning their trip and readings to prepare for the Lab. Artists will be asked to prepare and submit a 5-7 minute slide presentation of their art practice prior to arrival.

DURING THE LAB

Each day will start at 10AM with a gathering of participants and facilitators where we will review and discuss the work for the day. Sessions are scheduled throughout the day with ample time for breaks and exploration. Friday and Monday will take place at Tulane University Special Collections. On Saturday and Sunday, the lab will meet at Antenna Gallery. 

Friday will focus on artist research and learning how to use collections. On Saturday & Sunday, the lab will have artist presentations and sessions that focuses on artist development with an emphasis on articulating artist practice and how artists make connections between history and contemporary issues. On Saturday, participants will meet historian Frank Perez for a walking tour of the French Quarter to explore the role of site and place in the context of art and history. The group will visit some of the sites referenced in the Special Collections and hear stories about New Orleans history and the evolving cityscape. Perez will also speak about the LGBT Archives Project of Louisiana. On Monday, the lab will return to Tulane University Special Collections for a discussion on proposal writing and researching specific material requested by the artists. Themes of race, gender, and the environment will thread throughout all the sessions. Each day will end with an informal discussion off site from 7 to 9PM.

AFTER THE LAB

Artists will leave the Lab with a network of peer support; an idea for a project; and the task of turning that idea into a project proposal and a sample work. The project proposal may be for an exhibition, a book, or some other project that will be considered by Kolaj Institute. The proposals and sample work will be exhibited during the month of July 2020 in the Special Collections Gallery at Tulane University and will be a feature of Kolaj Fest New Orleans.