World Collage Day is an annual international celebration of collage on the Second Saturday of May. This an excellent opportunity to learn more about this technique, explore cultural heritage collections and get creative.
Collage is a versatile art form practised for centuries. It started with twelfth-century Japanese calligraphers who used bits of paper and fabric to create backgrounds for their poems. From medieval times to the nineteenth century, people used materials like gemstones, shells, straw, and hair to enhance their art. However, in the early twentieth century, collage emerged as a fine art medium with the cubist experiments of Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in France. Since then, collage has evolved, and artists used it to explore ideas, advocate concepts, and develop new directions in their work. Today, it has a permanent place among artistic media such as drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture.
Collage is a low-threshold art form, you don't need experience or any specific skills to try. It's a nice way to explore and remix artworks, vintage photos, historical documents. And you can mix them with other materials - old paper, labels, packaging found at home. Here's how to make a collage using cultural heritage collections, in a few simple steps:
Start by exploring work of well known collage artists such as Hannah Höch, Man Ray, Kurt Schwitters and Joseph Cornell.
And if you feel like inviting some serendipity to your explorations - there are many more examples of collage artworks from across Europe and from various periods in history available on Europeana website. Browse through them and see which ones catch your attention.
A birthday postcard for a friend, a portrait of your pet, an imaginary landscape or something totally abstract - choose a theme. Or just start by finding for interesting images and documents and see where they bring you.
You can search using keywords or browse the collections by topic, century or organisation. Or, if you prefer a more curated experience, take a look at our stories and galleries exploring cultural heritage in all possible ways.
Remember that the items you’ll work with should be openly licensed (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA) or in public domain. Use the filter: Can I use it - YES to find the right items. And remember that the information about the license is available under every item.
If you found a few images you like, the easiest way to access them easily is is saving them or creating your own gallery. With Europeana account, you can do it easily and quickly. The galleries can be private or - if you like what you found and think the world should see it - public and published on Europeana website.
