Artist Development at Kolaj Institute

Kolaj Institute’s Artist Development Program is a collection of three core workshops for self-motivated artists, at any stage in their career, who want to develop and expand their collage-based artist practice and work towards professional goals, particularly in the areas of exhibitions and publishing.

About Kolaj Institute Artist Development

At Kolaj Institute, our philosophy is that if we bring artists together, explore ideas and concepts, share knowledge, we can stretch and develop as artists. When we bring that knowledge and skill into our communities, we raise the standing of collage and contribute to the civic discourse. To that end, we offer three core artist development workshops that are designed to support artists gain a deeper understanding of their art practice and to develop their practice so that they can achieve their professional and artistic goals.

The program is designed for artists to work in stages, at their own pace, in four-week blocks. Artists are welcome to take a single workshop and are not committed to taking all three workshops. The programs are not pre-requisites and artists may take as many or as few as they wish in any order they wish. Throughout the program, we offer one-on-one support to artists around understanding one’s practice and goal setting.

Who Is This For?

The Artist Development Program is open to any artist over the age of 21 from anywhere in the world. The Program is intended for self-motivated artists, at any stage in their career, who want to develop and expand their collage-based artist practice. Workshops are particularly oriented to those who wish to make a change in their current practice. We look for artists who have made a body of artwork. We also look for established artists who want a space and structure to explore new goals while developing new skills. The program takes as a premise that part of being a professional artist is putting one’s artwork in front of an audience or community.

Curating Collage

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. We do this by curating artwork from Kolaj Institute’s Collection and curating the artwork of other workshop participants. Artists complete the workshop with an exhibition proposal or prospectus.

NEXT SESSION
Sundays, 29 September to 27 October 2024, 2-4PM EDT

NEXT DEADLINE
Saturday, September 14, 2024

Collage in Practice

The practice of collage takes on many forms and is shaped by the artist’s goals and what they want to achieve with their artwork. The Collage in Practice Workshop is designed to give artists a working understanding of artist practice and how this understanding informs approaches to professional and artistic development. Participants will explore critical concepts and collage taxonomies as a way to develop and refine the language they use to talk about their own practice and to develop a broad view of the creative landscape in which they operate. Participants will finish the workshop with a deeper understanding of their practice; a strong statement of practice that can be used to communicate with curators, editors, and art professionals; a portfolio of artwork (or a plan to make one); and tools for growing or developing their practice.

NEXT SESSION
Saturdays, 19 October to 9 November 2024, 2-4PM ET

NEXT DEADLINE
Saturday, September 28, 2024

Collage Publishing

At Kolaj Institute, we see the book, not just the gallery, as a place to experience collage. This sentiment has broad implications for how collage artists work and how their work is received by an art world whose orientation is decidedly fixed on the gallery wall. In the Collage Publishing Workshop, artists turn a body of work or a project into a zine, art catalog, monograph, or book. We explore different models of publishing and types of book projects and we walk through the steps and support one another as we create publishing projects and prepare to put them out into the world.

NEXT SESSION
Mondays, 11 November to 2 December 2024, 6-8PM EST

NEXT DEADLINE
Sunday, October 20, 2024