Curating Collage Workshop

CALL TO ARTISTS
Curating Collage Workshop
A five-week, virtual/online workshop with Kolaj Institute
Next Session: Saturday, 20 June and Sundays, 21 June-12 July 2026, 1-3PM EDT
Deadline to apply for the next session: Sunday, 31 May 2026

Curating is a vital part of art’s function: a curator creates a bridge between artwork and audience. For artists, this process can be confusing and mysterious. The goal of the Curating Collage Workshop is to equip artists with the tools to curate their own work, to work with curators, and build exhibitions that connect with diverse audiences.

The Curating Collage Workshop is a five-week program designed to train artists as curators. In five virtual meetings over five weeks and through ongoing, online discussion, we will explore the fundamentals of curating, how to create critical context for collage, and various strategies for navigating the art ecosystem and presenting collage to an audience. Topics will include art writing; gallery and museum issues; documenting artist practice; and working with art professionals. We will also show artists how to develop an exhibition prospectus.

The Curating Collage Workshop will focus on the role of the exhibition as a way to diffuse artwork and serve communities: How do we exhibit collage? What is needed from collage to function in a commercial gallery, art center, or museum? How do we build exhibitions that go beyond the “Cut and Paste” group show model that is prevalent today? What does it mean to be artist-centric, medium-centric, or viewer-centric in the presentation of collage in exhibition? And the workshop will explore ideas around Curation: What is a curator and what is their role? How do we introduce collage to viewers? How do we build an audience for collage and generate enthusiasm and a sense of value for the work? How do we take collage where it needs to go to reach the viewers it is intended to reach?

Participants will finish the workshop with a deeper understanding of the art ecosystem and role exhibitions play in their own art practice.