Call to Artists: Dancing Pixel: An Exhibition of Animated Collage GIFs

About the Open Call

In 1989, CompuServe released a new version of its bitmap image format. Called 89a, this new format allowed images to be animated. Early GIFs gave us cheesy rolling “Under Construction” signs on AOL pages and pixelated dancing bananas announcing Peanut Butter Jelly Times. In decades since then, GIFs have matured into a sophisticated and recognized art form, some of the best of which uses collage as its technique and genre. Kolaj Institute is seeking submissions from artists with a practice of making animated GIFs for a program at Kolaj Fest New Orleans where selected artworks will be screened at an Evening Event. After the festival, the artworks will be exhibited in an Online Exhibition that will open on 15 July 2025 on Kolaj Institute’s website. Collage GIFs are part of Collage in Motion, a project of Kolaj Institute that explores collage and the moving image, a broad, loosely defined category that includes animations, film cut-ups, collage film, stop-motion, animated GIFs, documentaries about collage artists, and other forms of media in which collage–as medium or genre–is present. We see our role as not one of defining “collage in motion” but as one of asking what “collage in motion” can be. The project manifests as articles in Kolaj Magazine, an online directory, workshops, residencies, and screenings. Artists with practice of Collage in Motion are encouraged to submit to the online directory.

What is Offered

Selected artworks will be screened at an Evening Event at Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2025 and subsequently exhibited in an Online Exhibition on Kolaj Institute's website.

Requirements

Artists with a practice of making animated GIFs.

How to Apply

Submit via the provided link: https://kasini.submittable.com/submit/326638/call-to-artists-dancing-pixel-an-exhibition-of-animated-collage-gifs