Visual Arts

War Stories: Collage & Conflict is a four-week virtual/online collage artist residency with Kolaj Institute in October 2026. Intended for self-motivated artists at any career stage, the program is open to artists over age 21 from anywhere in the world. It will be especially relevant to artists working in social and political collage, or those interested in developing work in this area.

Participants will research how war and peace are reported and create artwork responding to historical and contemporary war correspondence. They will explore political collage from its early twentieth-century roots in European anti-fascist movements through contemporary practice, while considering how artists can contribute to civic discourse. Adrian Paukstat will discuss how Wissenschaft & Frieden is developing its issue on war and conflict reporting. Beginning in the second week, artists will present a weekly collage for critical feedback and develop statements documenting the history and context of their work.

Selected artworks will be included in issue 4/2026 of Wissenschaft & Frieden with commentary by project curator Ric Kasini Kadour. An additional selection will be published in a Kolaj Institute print folio and made available for exhibitions. Artists will also be invited to submit work for consideration for the War & Peace Correspondence Project and to speak at a Kolaj LIVE Online event in January 2027.

The residency runs 3-24 October 2026, with sessions on Saturdays, 3, 10, 17, and 24 October, 1-3PM EDT. Attendance at all sessions and completion of assignments are expected. The cost is $600 USD per artist. A limited number of grants are available to offset the cost for artists in need. Applications are due Saturday, 12 September 2026. Applicants submit contact information, a 50-250-word bio, a 50-300-word artist-practice statement, 5-7 artwork images, a statement of expectations, and responses about their work and needs through the online application form.

Montreal: City as Archive Artist Lab-October 2026 is a five-day, in-person intensive at Atelier Galerie 2112 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, accompanied by two preparatory virtual meetings on Zoom and a post-Lab virtual reconvening. Organized by Kolaj Institute and led by Ric Kasini Kadour, director of Kolaj Institute and editor of Kolaj Magazine, the Lab is designed for collage artists interested in developing place-based artwork and contemporary art projects.

Through presentations, site visits, walks, discussion, research, and studio work, participants will investigate the idea of place as archive. Artists will consider how Montreal’s buildings, streets, public spaces, signage, material culture, communities, and histories can inform collage. The Lab also addresses appropriation, copyright, fair use, research, play, context, exhibiting, publishing, and the ways artwork circulates through the art ecosystem. Artists will explore multiple Montreal neighborhoods and reflect on the history of the Centre-Sud district through the Écomusée du fier monde.

At the end of the week, participants will present their artwork and proposals for a larger body of work or project. Artwork made during and after the Lab will be considered for a 2027 exhibition at Kolaj Institute Gallery in New Orleans and future Place as Archive publications. Participants will also become members of Kolaj Institute’s Place as Archive Project.

The in-person Lab runs Tuesday, 6 October to Sunday, 11 October 2026. Dates for the preparatory virtual meetings are to be determined. The early application deadline is Sunday, 30 August 2026; the final deadline is Sunday, 13 September 2026. The fee is $1050 CAD (approximately $750 USD) per artist. A limited number of grants is available to offset the Lab fee; travel, accommodations, and meals remain the artist’s responsibility. Artists over age 21, at any career stage, may apply from anywhere in the world at https://forms.gle/BeGbS9Wz3ykXz6mU7.