Collage Cult

North West, United Kingdom

HISTORY

Collage Cult was established in October 2022 by Alice Thickett and Catherine Jack to create a space for discussing collage with artists across the North West. While studying for a PhD centered around her collage practice, Alice noticed a lack of opportunities to consider collage theory and discover new artists within a community. Alice invited Manchester-based collagist Catherine to co-found the collective, and after developing a model Collage Cult was formed.

MISSION

Every month Collage Cult meets online for 90 minutes to discuss a research paper and a chosen collage artist. Members have the opportunity to show examples of their own practice to illustrate their points. The aim is for the group to be relaxed and open, where everyone feels that they can bring their thoughts about collage art practice to the meeting. Each new member can introduce themselves and share their oeuvre with the group. After each gathering, members are encouraged to share their thoughts on the Collage Cult Padlet. This is an opportunity to reflect on the conversations as individuals, where the format can be a stream of consciousness or a more structured journal entry.

Members often make suggestions for artists, essays, exhibitions, poems, open calls, or documentaries they have found interesting, which they can share through the Cult WhatsApp. They review these as a group at the following meeting. Videos and images created by members are shared on the Cult’s Instagram to encourage wider discussion.

ASSOCIATION

The group has 9 members including both founders. Active participants are keen to regularly chat and share exhibitions, processes, and artists they have found in the group WhatsApp. Attending the Cult meetings is voluntary and they respect people’s availability and busy schedules. Collage Cult has members who have recently started exploring collage as a practice, members with interests in science, medicine, and the body, and members whose work involves practices with natural materials. One member uses botany and printmaking techniques, while another explores photographs of their collages as objects in the exhibition space. While some members are full-time artists, others fit their creativity around full-time jobs, and others are currently studying.

JOIN

Due to collage being a disputed and wide-ranging term, the Cult invites interest from artists who:

• Consider collage as their main medium (not just for sketching out ideas for other art forms)
• Use photographic or printed elements within their work
• Use analog approaches at some point in their process

It is free to become a member and they ask those interested to fill out this survey. This is an opportunity for potential members to provide their location, details on their practice, and to explain why they want to join the collective. They expect all members to agree to terms and conditions to ensure any uploads to the Padlet do not include hate speech or AI. The call to artists is ongoing and always open.

Any questions can be emailed and Alice or Catherine will respond as soon as they can.

KEY ACTIVITIES

The group is discussing the potential of collaborative essays and events in response to the readings and research they are undertaking. They are spending some time to truly understand each other’s practices so that they can better communicate their ideas about what expanded collage is and could be.

The Cult has met via a mix of online and in-person gatherings. Their conversations have ranged from; how we store our images and final pieces, what we collect, what adhesives and cutting tools we use, the themes behind our individual practice, and what the future of technology is in collage art making, such as AI and the possible re-birth of the Arts & Crafts Movement. Some of the artists they’ve researched so far are Mary Delaney, Asha Zero, Linder Sterling, Ellen Gallagher, and Mark Napier.

CONTACT

EMAIL | INSTAGRAM | PADLET | SURVEY TO JOIN