Truth and Dare by Lori Petchers

15"x11"; inkjet print on paper; 2025.

Art to Resist & Survive Authoritarian Regime Change

On View Saturday, August 8 - Sunday, November 1, 2026

Kolaj Institute’s Politics in Collage Project is a series of residencies, publications, discussions, and exhibitions examining complex socio-political issues that contemporary society is contending with, in order to spark meaningful dialogue and inspire deeper engagement. In January 2025, Kolaj Institute organized a residency that brought together collage artists to make artwork that responds to a global rise in authoritarianism. They explored the history of political collage and its early 20th century roots in the European anti-fascist movements. They learned how to read and decode authoritarianism, to understand how it operates, and strategies for resisting or countering it. Discussions and presentations centered on how an artist can make work that picks up the unfinished work of history and contributes to the civic discourse.

Artists in the residency worked together to illustrate and elucidate The Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide, a text written by Martin Mycielski, the Vice-President and Executive Director of the Brussels-based Open Dialogue Foundation. Based on the Polish experience, The Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide offers its readers information and tools for recognizing and resisting authoritarianism. In a clear series of lists, the Guide lays out what to expect in a society being led by an authoritarian regime, rules for surviving such a regime, and strategies for engaging with authoritarian supporters.

The book published by Kolaj Institute combines the text with the artwork of seven collage artists to create a space in which we can think about the rise of authoritarianism and how to navigate the troubling, difficult times in which we find ourselves. The Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide is a testament to the role art can play in our communities.

15 Featured Artists:

Heather Wright (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)

Heather Wishik (Woodstock, Vermont, USA)

Lori Petchers (Fairfield, Connecticut, USA)

Andrea Lee (Fenelon Falls, Ontario, Canada)

Jennifer R Myhre (Sedona, Arizona, USA)

Olivia Baldacci (New York, New York, USA)

Suzanne Gore (Boise, Idaho, USA)

The views and opinions expressed in this exhibition are those of the artists and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rochester Art Center or its Board of Directors or Staff.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.