Paul Butler's Collage Party has traveled extensively throughout Canada, and the US where it has served as a kind of litmus test of wide-open participation. Its premise is simple, come hang out, have a beer, bring some materials, or use what's here, sit down and get to work. It intentionally occupies the informal margins of art practice, where the seeds for future projects and collaborations are grown. A Winnipeg native and founder of the Other Gallery, Butler has implicated various friends and volunteers in the production of past parties including Dearraindrop, Jason McLean and many others. Most recently the party has landed at Creative Growth in Oakland, and Butler, Michael Dumontier of the Royal Art Lodge, and Richard Boulet are here for two weeks working with clients of one of the world's foremost art programs for developmentally disabled adults.

While living in Canada last year I had a chance to see the aftermath of an early iteration of the Collage Party at the Alberta College of Art + Design's Illingworth Kerr Gallery in Calgary. A maelstrom of tape, string, color and sculpture populating a floor covered in bits of paper, it was clear that the act of collage was not limited to the page. Flipping through the images of past parties on the other gallery website, the collaging frenzy has included architectures, body coverings and performance props. It's also served as raw material for Butler's own art practice, where he develops his quietly considerate manipulations of content culled from the detritus of material culture.

Creative Growth has gained a reputation for supporting incredibly prolific and singularly talented artists like Judith Scott, Aurie Ramirez and William Scott. Since the mid 70s CG has pioneered a model for working with scores of these visionaries on art related projects, and has also coordinated collaborations with various Bay Area artists and curators. The Collage Party is a perfect parallel to the ongoing experimentation internal to Creative Growth, and last Friday the invitation was extended to gallery visitors. Concurrent with the event last week, independent filmmaker Guy Maddin projected a selection of short films, topping off the Winnipeg takeover of a little corner of Oakland. Next Thursday the culmination of their relentless production will be on view and available for purchase (proceeds support Creative Growth).