✂️Upcoming Exhibition - The Lexicon of Wonder - Thursday October the 8th - Friday, November 6th, 2026 at The University of Galway Art Gallery, University Road, Galway, Co. Galway, Ireland, H91 TK33.✂️

✂️⚡️Upcoming Solo Exhibition - The Lexicon of Wonder⚡️✂️
Opening: Thursday October the 8th at 6pm GMT
Running until: Friday, November 6th, 2026.
At:
The University of Galway Art Gallery,
The Quadrangle,
University Road,
Galway,
Co. Galway,
Ireland,
H91 TK33,

In collaboration with the University of Galway Art Gallery and Project RARE, I am really excited to announce the launch of an upcoming exhibition of 'The Lexicon of Wonder' project.

This project featuring an exhibition, workshops, discussions and an artist talk is inspired by recent research into the emotions of Wonder & Awe and into the arts as a deep technology for evoking these states in both practitioner and audience.

Here is a little bit about the work:
”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.

Encountering reality through the states of Wonder and Awe can make an individual feel simultaneously small, and deeply connected to the world around them. They are emotions that inspire us to both transcend our own self interests and to delve deeply into our desire for greater understanding. They are in short the emotions of human discovery, and as such the unifying engines of the human curiosity behind philosophy, science and the arts.

For this exhibition I draw on the contemporary research of Psychologist Dacher Keltner and Philosopher Helen De Cruz into the importance of Wonder as a state of being. This new body of work is inspired by wonder, materials sourced from old children's scientific encyclopedias and contemporary collage techniques.

This project explores the arts themselves as a deep set of technologies that have the capacity to instillboth practitioners and viewers with a sense of Wonder at the boundless curiosity of scientific investigation and humanities deep connection with the natural world.”

For more from Project Rare Click Here.

⚡️✂️Upcoming Residency: The Tyrone Guthrie Centre - Annaghmakerrig House, Mullaghmore, Co. Monaghan, Ireland, H18 PP70✂️⚡️

⚡️✂️Upcoming Residency: The Tyrone Guthrie Centre✂️⚡️
From the Mayo Arts Service.
September 14th - 21st 2026
Tyrone Guthrie Centre,
Annaghmakerrig House,
Mullaghmore,
Newbliss,
Co. Monaghan,
Ireland,
H18 PP70

I am really excited to begin a residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre tomorrow!

The Tyrone Guthrie Centre is such a prestigious institution within the Irish cultural landscape and I am very honoured to have been awarded time and space there to begin an entirely new body of work and to meet other artists, writers and cultural practitioners.

After bringing two long term projects to completion earlier this summer (more details soon), I will be transitioning my practice from the psychology of wonder towards an exploration of dreams as a space of spontaneous creative emergence while integrating contemporary psychological research into hypnagogia, daydreaming and many other strange hinterlands of consciousness along the way.

The Mayo Arts Service offers a special bursary annually to artists living and working in Mayo to spend one week at Tyrone Guthrie centre at Annaghmakerrig, Co. Monaghan. Workspace, board and lodging expenses are all provided for in the award.

I wanted to say a huge thanks to the Mayo Arts Service for all of their continued support over the years in the development of my practice from funding, to the acquisition of my work for their permanent collection and all the other opportunities, supports and conversations they have provided.
 
I feel privileged to have received this award.
I cant wait to share what I dream up!

For more from the Mayo Arts Service CLICK HERE.
To find out more about the Tyrone Guthrie Centre CLICK HERE.

✂️Upcoming Exhibition - Come to Me, Here Beside the River - New Orleans Jazz Museum, 400 Esplanade, New Orleans, LA 70116, USA.✂️

⚡️✂️Upcoming Exhibition: Come to Me, Here Beside the River✂️⚡️
⏰When: Tuesday the 8th - 22nd of September 2026
📍Where: NEW ORLEANS JAZZ MUSEUM,
400 Esplanade,
New Orleans,
LA 70116,
USA.

I am delighted be taking part in the forthcoming “Come to me, here beside the River” Exhibition to be held during the NOLA Riverfest at the New Orleans Jazz Museum and organised by the Kolaj Institute. In Celtic Mythology many of our main rivers were considered to be Goddesses, full of power and mystery, and fonts of folklore in their own right. It was interesting to me the to consider the Mississippi in a similar vein.

About the Exhibition:
“Come to me, here beside the River” brings together nine International Collage Artists, each of whom offers a unique take on the Mississippi River as a dynamic force of culture. The exhibition will take place on the iron fence of the U.S. Mint, home of the New Orleans Jazz Museum.

Participating Artists include:
Anthony D Kelly (Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland), LaVonna Varnado Brown (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA), Marta Janik (Warsaw, Poland), Lilya Chavaga (Brussels, Belgium), Matthew Hendricks (Cape Town, South Africa), Allison Spence (Tallahassee, Florida, USA), Seth Ter Haar (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA), Jeanna Penn (Oakland, California, USA) Ric Kasini Kadour (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA & Montreal, Quebec, Canada).

This exhibition is also part of the Kolaj Institutes overarching “The River Bends, So Must We” project.

”The River Bends, So Must We” Project:
“The River Bends and So Must We” is a project of Kolaj Institute that reflects on the Mississippi River as a dynamic force of culture. In 2026 and 2027, we will bring together artists from the International Collage Community to make artwork that imagines and speaks to what lessons the River can teach us about our own humanity. We will consider the history of the River in New Orleans from primordial times, pre-Columbian civilization, and to the present moment. We will examine how the River is an economic force, a tool of power, a natural wonder, and source of magic. We will take up Maya Angelou’s (1928–2014) invitation in her poem, “On the Pulse of Morning”, and “Speak to humankind today. Come to me, here beside the River.”

For more about the Kolaj Institute and “The River Bends, So Must We” project CLICK HERE.

For more about the New Orleans Jazz Museum CLICK HERE.

⚡️✂️Collage & Visionary Words at Interface Inagh, The Hatchery, Cloonnacartan, Recess, Co. Galway, Ireland, H91 VW58 . ✂️⚡️

⚡️✂️Upcoming Collage & Visionary Words Workshop at Interface Inagh✂️⚡️
⏰When: Friday, Sept 18th, 4-7pm.
📍Where: INTERFACE,
The Hatchery, Cloonnacartan,
Recess, Co. Galway,
Ireland, H91 VW58 .

Tickets: FREE (Kindly Supported by Culture Night)
BOOK HERE

For Culture Night this year Interface will host a collage workshop, where participants work with curated materials and receive guidance to create their own original collages.

The artist Anthony D Kelly frequently intermingles collage and literary techniques as a way to cross-pollinate inspiration and foster greater creative momentum and flow. The "changing of creative channels" in this way can help plant the seeds for further projects and inspire unexpected directions for creative inquiry.

This 3 hour workshop will begin with the intuitive selection of a prompt word, followed by a short guided visualization that will aid participants in connecting with the rich field of associations, images and potential that can spring from a single word.

From this reflective starting point, Anthony will invite participants to write a short reflective passage to solidify their experiences. He will then lead a hands-on collage session using carefully selected materials, offering gentle guidance on technique and composition as participants develop their work toward a finished piece.

Participants will finish this workshop with new collage techniques, have engaged in a rich sharing of ideas and meaning, and will have direct experience of a technique which can help foster new ideas and create forward momentum even in times of stuckness."

Participants are welcome to bring a notebook, though this is entirely optional — all other materials will be provided.

Participants are advised to dress warmly and bring their own food and drinking water. Tea and Coffee will be provided.

Culture Night is brought to you by the Arts Council in partnership with Galway County Council.
For more from the fabulous team at Interface Inagh CLICK HERE.

📢✒️Publication Announcement: Interview and Recent Work Featured in Sfumato Magazine #3✒️📢

📢✒️Publication Announcement: Interview and Recent Work Featured in Sfumato Magazine #3✒️📢

I am delighted to have an interview and some of my recent work featured in the new issue of Sfumato Magazine. The current issue brings together an impressive collection of contemporary artists from around the world, featuring diverse perspectives across Figurative Practices, Abstract & Non-Representational Practices, Photography, Installation, Drawing, Mixed Media, Digital Art, and Contemporary Interdisciplinary Practices. A massive thank you to the guest curators Carla E. Reyes and Marie-José Robinson Kafri for including my work.

More from the publishers below:
”Sfumato Art Magazine returns with its third edition, bringing together an international selection of contemporary artists working across diverse practices, perspectives, and visual languages. Building upon the foundations established by our previous publications, Issue 03 marks an important evolution in the magazine's journey. For the first time, the issue introduces dedicated guest-curated sections led by Carla E. Reyes and Marie-José Robinson Kafri, whose unique curatorial perspectives contribute to a richer and more dynamic editorial dialogue. Issue 03 embraces a non-thematic approach, allowing each work to be considered on its own terms while encouraging unexpected conversations between artists, disciplines, and ideas.

The publication features artists working across Figurative Practices, Abstract & Non-Representational Practices, Photography, Installation, Drawing, Mixed Media, Digital Art, and Contemporary Interdisciplinary Practices.​ Issue 03 also continues Sfumato's editorial commitment through artist interviews, curatorial essays, and featured texts that offer deeper insight into the creative processes, experiences, and ideas shaping today's artistic landscape. More than a publication, Sfumato Art Magazine serves as a platform for international artistic exchange, celebrating both emerging and established artists while fostering meaningful connections between creators, curators, and audiences. Published by Sfumato Art Creatives, Issue 03 is available in both print and digital formats and represents the latest chapter in our ongoing mission to support and promote contemporary art on a global scale.”

For more from Sfumato Magazine CLICK HERE.
To avail of a free digital copy of the current issue CLICK HERE

Cover artwork: Darlene Aschbacher

✂️Upcoming Symposium - Words as Pictures, Collage as Text at Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2026✂️

⚡️Upcoming Symposium - Words as Pictures, Collage as Text at Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2026⚡️
Friday, 2-3pm (CDT), June 12th, 2026,
At: Cafe Istanbul, 2372 St Claude Ave,
Room 252, New Orleans, LA 70117,
United States.

This year I am really honored to be presenting at Kolaj Fest 2026 on the rich interplay of literary and collage techniques within my creative practice. I will speaking of how together they inform core elements of several major projects and how we can “change creative channels” to come unstuck; driving new inspiration and discover unexpected paths of exploration. This will be my part of a symposium on “Words as Pictures, Collage as Text” alongside other amazing writers and collage artists, Kirk Read, Christine Karapetian, Astrid Bant and Trish Crapo.

Check out a note below from the organizers about the Symposium and my part in it:

”For COLLAGE::BOOKS which took place in October 2025 in Montreal, Brooklyn, New York collage artist Jennella Young wrote, “Publishing is more than documentation. It is itself a creative act that shapes how ideas are assembled and carried. It’s almost its own form of collage. Artist books and zines are not secondary to exhibitions for my art work—they are exhibitions in their own right—the kind you can carry and share and hopefully treasure.” Not simply illustration, when artists pair writing and artwork, an alchemy occurs where the words can become pictures and the collage can become text. Visual literacy and textural literacy mingle and build a new world for viewers and readers in the cosmology of the contemporary art project. During this panel, we will hear from collage artists and writers with overlapping, integrated practices.” 

Writing and publishing has consistently flowed through Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland artist, writer, and integrative psychotherapist Anthony D Kelly‘s practice. At Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2025, he presented the project, “Lexicon of Wonder” which will soon be published as a book. For each of the collages in his “Rare Monster Sighting Archives,” Kelly writes a fictional “Recorded Sighting” report. He collaborated on the children’s book, Fleadom Flea Circus, with Marta Janik. He has also been an active contributor to Kolaj Magazine and Kolaj Institute’s Collage Illustration and PoetryxCollage projects. Kelly will speak about the role writing plays in his collage practice. 

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.

✂️CURRENT EXHIBITION: CONFRONTAGE AT COLLAGE-O-RAMA - Slip Gallery, Belltown Art Walk, 2301 1st Ave, Seattle, USA - Running: May 8th - June 6th 2026. ✂️

✂️CURRENT EXHIBITION: CONFRONTAGE AT COLLAGE-O-RAMA ✂️

⏰Opening Reception:
Friday the 8th of May at 6-9pm (PDT).
Running: May 8th - June 6th 2026.

🧭Venue:
Slip Gallery,
Belltown Art Walk,
2301 1st Ave,
Seattle,
WA 98121,
United States.

The Confrontage exhibition is the result of a recent mission posed by the Special Agent Collage Collective, of which I am a proud card carrying member. Here is a little flavour of the brief below:

"To confront is to face, and that is what you are doing with this mission. It may be connecting a line between two completely different source images. It may be a deliberate contrast between light and dark, busy and quiet. It may be capturing the energy of complementary colors—bluest blue sitting with the most orange of oranges, a verdant green alongside velvety red—or the abruptness of two images so dissimilar, so dissonant, that this is the only way they coexist. Whether a 2-element splice collage or a work of maximalism, you are encouraged to consider how every piece contributes to the confrontage at play."

The piece itself is entitled "The Hollow Man" and it is a part of my Inner Space Series . This collage speaks to the experience of Anhedonia, or absence of pleasure, or a feeling of being lost or listless while in the teeth of profound depression.

Collage-O-Rama is the brain child of the amazing Andrea Lewicki . Its become a real fixture on the international collage calendar, featuring a month long celebration of collage as a medium, through exhibitions, workshops and informal collage gatherings.

A massive thanks to Andrea for all your hard work pulling this together and other members of the crack collage team who helped out.

For information on joining the Special Agent Collage Collective and to view open missions CLICK HERE.
For more from the Inner Space series CLICK HERE.

🔸🔹🔸ANNOUNCEMENT: Pollinator International Mentorship Programme Participant 2026 🔸🔹🔸

🔸🔹🔸 Pollinator International Mentorship Programme Participant 2026 🔸🔹🔸

I am really excited to have been accepted onto the upcoming cohort of the Pollinator International Membership programme. Big thanks to the artist Fionnuala Quinn for thinking of me and putting this opportunity on my radar.
The upcoming cohorts for this programme will be meeting each Friday for the month of May and I am excited to see how this all unfolds. See what the organizers have to say about the programme below.

”Pollinator's program is like a virtual residency of mutual support. Once enrolled, they match you with a cohort of aligned peers who we'll meet with weekly. They handle all the logistics, their artist-designed platform and conversation prompts will help us build trust, real relationships, and a deeper network of mutual support.

Participants are alumni, cultural workers, or leaders of organizations in our vetted network.
Each participant is placed in a curated group with up to seven other participants. Cohorts are determined by career stage, identity-based affinities, location, alumni status, and more.

Once a week, participants will join other members of their cohort via secure video calls on Pollinator's artist-designed platform. Roundtable-style conversations are guided by prompts that aim to build group trust, collaborative relationships, and creative momentum.

After their 2025 pilot, nine out of ten participants said their program helped expand and deepen their network. Many shared other ways the experience benefited them—including creative breakthroughs, new collaborative projects, invitations to solo exhibitions, and more.”

If you are interested in joining a future iteration or want to learn more about Pollinator CLICK HERE.

✂️BIG PAPER PASTE PARTY!! At The Linenhall, Castlebar, Co.Mayo, Ireland. Saturday, May 9th, 2026, 6pm -8pm.✂️

✂️WORLD COLLAGE DAY - BIG PAPER PASTE PARTY✂️

At: The Linenhall,
Linenhall Street,
Castlebar,
Co.Mayo
Ireland,
F23 AN24

On: Saturday May 9th 2026,
6pm - 8pm.

The Connacht Collage Collective is turning two! We’re marking the occasion with a Big Paper Paste Party in honour of World Collage Day. This extra special session is open to everyone — no matter your experience or skill level. Whether you’re a total beginner or a seasoned pro, come along and enjoy the simple pleasure of making.

For this birthday edition, DJ SIM Card will share some mood music while we create together. Her is a little more from me about the event:

“It's really a wonderful thing to be here getting ready to celebrate the Connacht Collage Collective's second birthday and on World Collage Day 2026 no less.

Our rich community of artists has gone from strength to strength, with members traveling from all corners of Mayo and beyond to attend each month and a growing list of over ninety members. These last two years it has been really lovely meeting every month with both regulars and newcomers and to have the privilege of watching everyone's practices, experiments and relationships flourish. I believe as creatives and as human beings we are each made stronger, deeper and wiser by sharing in genuine community.

Our regular Connacht Collage Collective meetings have certainly been a font of inspiration and support for my own creative practice. So whether you are artistically established or creatively curious, please feel welcome to join us for our big celebration at the Linenhall Arts Centre. Here is to our future projects and meetings together!".

World Collage Day is an annual, international celebration held on the second Saturday of May. Initiated by Kolaj Magazine , the day is a call for artists and venues around the world to celebrate collage.

As Kolaj editor Ric Kasini Kadour says, “We created World Collage Day because we wanted to honour this community of artists and to remind the world what a spirit of cooperation, mutual support, and creativity can look like.”

This is an adult workshop (18+), and everyone is welcome.
Help us celebrate the joy of collage and community. Let’s make together!
Advance booking advised - CLICK HERE.

Form more about World Collage Day from the Kolaj Institute CLICK HERE.

To follow along with Connacht Collage Collective CLICK HERE.

Image: "Music: The Universal Language" (2019) - Anthony D Kelly.

📢✒️"Stability, Foundations & Flourishing: The Basic Income for Artists in Ireland" Article Published in Kolaj Magazine #43✒️📢

📢✒️"Stability, Foundations & Flourishing: The Basic Income for Artists in Ireland"✒️📢
Article Published in Kolaj Magazine #43.

I am proud to announce that my article entitled “Stability, Foundations & Flourishing: The Basic Income for Artists in Ireland” will feature in the upcoming issue of Kolaj Magazine #43. In this article I reflect on my personal experiences and the results of the incredible pilot program and the triumphal work carried out by the National Campaign for the Arts in Ireland to get this program onto a permanent footing. I also reflect on the harrowing and critical research supplied by the our colleagues and friends who took part in the pilot program control group, and who’s sacrifices have provided us with an accurate and lamentable portrait of the precarity faced by creatives without a program like this.

Kolaj Magazine exists to report on the International Collage Community and how collage is making its way into the world. 

Kolaj Magazine Issue #43 also features:
✂️Clive Knights is on the cover of Kolaj 43. His essay, “The Fluctuation of Likeness” speaks to the Necessity of Misrecognition. He writes, “Art reveals a part of something that perpetually extends beyond the edges of our reach, where nevertheless, the very act of reaching imparts an unsubstitutable, somewhat melancholic joy (though oddly reassuring) in the impossibility of the puzzle ever being completed.”
✂️In “Everything a Little Richer”, Michael Joshua Rowin interviews photomontagist Mark Rappaport about the way he thinks about images, art, and cinema.
✂️Anthony Michael Ryder considers the relationship of collage and trauma in “A Communion of Pain”.
✂️Emily Denlinger writes about taking her “Gain of Function” project to Carnival in New Orleans. “Most of my personal experience with collective effervescence has happened during political rallies. Being on site during Carnival allowed me to broaden my experience with collective effervescence and participate in the folklore, customs and rituals surrounding these events.”

✂️A whole host of other writings and images from international collage artists doing incredible things.

For more from Kolaj Magazine #43 and the work of the Kolaj Institute CLICK HERE.

For more from cover artist Clive Knights CLICK HERE.

Cover Image: “Overlooked ” (2024) Analogue Collage by Clive Knights.