Carnival as Folklore
A five-day, in-person collage artist residency at Kolaj Institute in New Orleans

Virtual Sessions: Wednesdays, 14 and 21 January 2026, 7-9PM EST
In Person: 4PM on Sunday, 25 January to 3PM on Friday, 30 January 2026

Early Deadline to Apply: 14 December 2025. The Final Deadline (if space is available) is 28 December 2025. Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis until space is filled. Artists are encouraged to apply well before the deadline.

ABOUT THE RESIDENCY
Carnival is a season of celebration and symbolic renewal that takes place each year, according to the Christian liturgical calendar, between Epiphany and Mardi Gras, ending on Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent, a period of solemn reflection and religious piety. During Carnival, social roles are reversed and norms are suspended; the jester becomes the king. Festivities are wide ranging and can include parades, street parties, formal balls, and cakes eaten only during that time of year. Carnival’s traditions are rooted in ancient European festivals. Its 19th-century revival in the Americas parallels a time when people were rediscovering and reveling in Greek and Roman Mythology. As such, carnival is dripping with folklore. No place does Carnival like New Orleans, where the city comes alive in a mass display of collective effervescence.

During this in-person Artist Residency, collage artists will be invited to spend a week in New Orleans investigating Carnival as folklore and making art about it. Taking a broad view of collage and rooted in an understanding of Artist Practice, artists will hear a working theory of folklore; what it is; how it functions in communities; and the role artists can play in activating, transmitting, and celebrating folklore in communities as a form of cultural expression and a strategy for community resilience. Artists will learn how to identify and document folklore; make art in response to that folklore; build a context for the folklore; and develop strategies for getting that artwork to communities and into the larger ecosystem of Art. 

Fee: $750

To apply, read the full Call to Artists HERE.