Who Are the Contemporary Artists of Southern Arizona?

In 1997 a group of six Tucson, Arizona, artists got together to form a collage group which became a part of the National Collage Society. The objectives of the group were to share ideas, network with other artists and groups, exhibit a fine arts collage show once or twice a year locally, to participate in the National Collage Society’s shows and to promote collage as a fine art. The group adopted as their name The Collage Association of Southern Arizona or CASA.

The word collage is from the French word coller, meaning “to glue.” This art form is a process of pasting papers, fabrics and similar materials onto a surface to create new images. Such unrelated elements are arranged to produce a composition that expresses symbolic meanings or emotional effects. The primary purpose of the organization is the development and advancement of collage as a viable and important fine art medium.

Membership is open to any artist working in experimental mixed media that includes collage. There are two classes of members, associate and active. An associate member must jury into active membership within three years of joining. Active members may hold elected office and participate in exhibits sponsored by the organization.

In 2006 the group, which now numbers around 100 members, voted to change the name of the organization to The Contemporary Artists of Southern Arizona, retaining the acronym CASA, in order to better reflect the scope of the work in which our members are involved.

The organization has a strong educational focus. Monthly meetings include demonstrations and presentations by artists working in collage or related fields. Workshops are offered twice a year featuring nationally known collage artists. Two to three exhibits are sponsored by the organization yearly, usually in the winter and spring months.