⚡️Upcoming Symposium- Curiosity, Wonder, Joy, & Portals at Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2025⚡️
Saturday, 2-3pm (CDT), June 28th, 2025,
At: Cafe Istanbul, 2372 St Claude Ave,
Room 252, New Orleans, LA 70117,
United States.
I am really honored to be presenting research and work on my upcoming Lexicon of Wonder project at Kolaj Fest 2025 as part of a symposium on Curiosity, Joy, Wonder and Portals alongside the amazing Breasia Hayes, Savannah Greene & C.Joi Sanchez.
I have been formulating the Lexicon of Wonder project over the last number of years and it is soon to be completed and released in the form of exhibitions and a publication. The first iteration of the Lexicon of Wonder exhibition will take place at Áras Inis Gluaire later this Summer with details coming soon.
Check out a note below from the organizers about the Symposium and my part in it:
”With its roots and history in the Surreal, collage is a well-built path to exercise curiosity. What happens if I put these two things together? Collage’s ability to bridge time and geography makes it a vehicle to explore new realms. During the Symposium at Kolaj Fest New Orleans, we will hear from Anthony D Kelly, Breasia Hayes, Savannah Green, and C. Joi Sanchez, each who are engaged in projects that explore wonder and joy and how life experiences take one down creative paths.
Anthony D Kelly is an artist, writer, and integrative psychotherapist from Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. “At the beating heart of my art practice are both wonder and play. Collage is a way for me to connect with myself, my community and the world around me,” wrote the artist. “I often hold a concept, word or idea in mind until an image coalesces and presents itself internally. I then sit and begin to sift through materials both digital and analogue for something that resonates.” Kelly will present his project, “Lexicon of Wonder”. He wrote, “Wonder and Awe are complex emotions arising in response to experiences of profound beauty, connection, natural phenomena, or through bearing witness to the incredible capacities, courage or talents of other human beings. They can also arise at times of great personal crisis or fear such as witnessing the raw power of nature at a time of natural disaster.” Kelly will speak about project origins, his ongoing research into the emotional states of wonder and awe, the role poetry plays in the project, and his plans for an exhibition and publication.”
For more about the Symposium itself CLICK HERE.
To learn more about about the wondrous Kolaj Fest and to download the festival events program
CLICK HERE.
For more from the Kolaj Institute and Magazine CLICK HERE.
Image: “Communications Bananatron” (detail) by Anthony D Kelly
21″x9″; Digital Collage; 2024.