After nearly a decade as an informal artist collective, the Twin Cities Collage Collective (TCCC) is displaying its first public exhibition at Boiler Room Coffee in the Stevens Square neighborhood of Minneapolis.

The exhibition showcases works from the newest issue of the collective’s publication “North Star Collage,” but the 40 works on display at Boiler Room are just a fraction of what appears in the book or their online exhibition.

According to TCCC founder allison anne, whose name is stylized as all-lowercase, “North Star Collage” started as a zine in 2021 that featured 24 artists. It now features 120 artists in its full-color, soft-cover book, just shy of the 150 artists featured online.

“Have you heard of my cult? It’s called collage,” anne said, their cat purring on their lap as we spoke on the phone.

The adaptable, experimental nature of collage art drew anne to the medium. So did its simultaneous personal and social nature.

“It’s like, ‘Cool, I can do whatever I want with this,’” they said. “And our changing relationships to print and print media present new challenges to work with.”

anne’s connection with collage is just one of a variety that is showcased in “North Star Collage 3.”

Racquel Banaszak, an Ojibwe visual artist and cultural historian, uses digital collages to build worlds that reflect Ojibwe culture and spirituality, particularly their joy and hope.

“My art is about being able to envision the Ojibwe worldview through art,” Banaszak said.

Banaszak’s art is atmospheric and vibrant. In some pieces, desaturated figures populate lush landscapes, whether they’re gazing upon them, moving through them or simply existing within them.

In other pieces, full-color animals such as deer and bison are accentuated with colorful lines and shapes which almost lift them off of the image and into the viewer’s world.

Her piece hanging in Boiler Room, “Inaawanidiwag (They Are Traveling to A Certain Place),” embodies this.

Still shots from the black and white film “Running Bison” float over a river reflecting the Milky Way, connected to broad, multicolored lines descending from the heavens. Purple coneflowers, used in Ojibwe healing traditions, sunflowers, a prayer flower, and dragonflies frame the scene.

Banaszak said she relishes the opportunity to both share her work and witness that of her fellow collage artists.

“(North Star) is a great opportunity to see what people find in their own worlds,” she said.

Another local artist known by the mononym Seer, who uses both they/them and she/her pronouns, uses the specific mixed media technique of assemblage, or as they put it, “collage with more stuff.”

Inspired by graffiti on bathroom stalls, found objects and tarot cards, Seer often works on canvas with traditional art materials such as acrylic paint, then adds material as she sees fit.

“When I’m stuck on a piece I just start adding things on top of it,” she said. “I’m always looking at depth, textures and abstraction.”

Wire-like material shaped into a ring visibly hangs off of her Boiler Room piece, “Sure ain’t v2.” A vibrant purple cross emanates its aura from the top right corner, with keyboard keys leading down from it.

“North Star” is Seer’s first public exhibition (they mainly post on their Instagram, seerthemagickian), and are excited at the prospect of creating a new artistic community through TCCC.

“I don’t see how I wouldn’t be involved with the Collective in the future,” they said.

TCCC started in 2017 as a way for anne to meet more people who shared their love for collage art, starting with casual artmaking sessions in the Boneshaker Books community room.

“Our mission has clarified into expanding access to collage,” anne said. “We want to redistribute materials and create connection, but expand our focus from just the Twin Cities to a more global focus.”

Of course, the first three years of the collective’s existence were pre-pandemic. During the early 2020s, it transitioned into a more diffuse online community while still maintaining global access.

“I’ve always been DIY or die, figure it out,” anne said. “But I can’t keep playing it fast and loose. It’s getting to a point where I’m going to have to start applying for grants.”

For anne, however, this reality is hardly a burden.

“(TCCC) is my life’s great work,” they said. “It’s the stage where all my values really play out.”

The love anne has for collaboration and community-building led to them creating TCCC, and it has only grown from there.

Part of this community-building is the rejection of hierarchy often found in the art world. Boiler Room attracted anne as an exhibition space in the first place to avoid the sense of exclusion art galleries can project.

“Art is vital and it’s for everyone and collage is for everyone,” anne said. “You just have to be interested and kind and a team player. Another world is possible.”

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated that allison anne has always funded TCCC on their own.