Bizarre Bio!

Eric Zuccola is an artist and educator whose work has been featured in multiple national exhibits, including juried shows hosted by the National Collage Society, the Twin Cities Collage Collective, Midwest Nice, MacRostie Art Center, Edge Center Gallery, Limner Gallery, Argyle Zebra Gallery, Vestige Concept Gallery, Calendula Gallery, Fresh Eye Gallery, Touchstone Gallery, Rum River Art Center, North Suburban Center for the Arts, No. 7 Center Gallery, the Indianapolis Art Center, the Northwest Arts Center, Burl Gallery, the Minneapolis Convention Center, and the Hopkins Center for the Arts. Zuccola was recognized during these juried shows with multiple awards, including the National Collage Society’s 2022 Fergus Ursprung Award for Excellence in Collage or Assemblage, an Honorable Mention from the MacRostie Art Center’s 31st Annual Juried Show in 2023, a Juror’s Prize at the National Collage Society’s 39th Annual Show in 2023, and a Juror’s Award of Distinction from the North Suburban Art Center in 2024. In addition to appearing in juried shows, Zuccola’s work has been featured in solo shows at the Paradise Center for the Arts, the Waseca Art Center, and the Rum River Art Center. Zuccola’s work has also appeared in multiple publications, including the North Star Collage magazine and the National Collage Society's annual calendar. Most recently, Zuccola has been named a Signature Member of the National Collage Society and has had his work placed in the permanent collection of The School of Art at Kent State University.

Outside of his work as an artist, Zuccola teaches International Baccalaureate Language and Literature, International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge, Journalism, and Film Study at Robbinsdale Cooper High School in the Robbinsdale Area School District near Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since first joining the school in 1999, Zuccola has served as advisor for Cooper’s student newspaper, The Quill, which has received numerous awards from the National Scholastic Press Association, the International Quill and Scroll Society, and Journalism Educators of Minnesota. Additionally, since 2004, Zuccola has been part of Cooper's athletics program as the head boys cross country coach and an assistant boys track coach. Zuccola's work as an educator is rooted in his desire to help young adults develop their voices and find their passions within a framework of equity and social justice. As one of Zuccola's Cooper colleagues writes about his approach to teaching, "Eric’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion continue to be reflected in carefully-planned lessons that honor these values. Eric holds all students to high expectations and provides them with the scaffolding to do their best, inside and outside the classroom." In recognition of his achievements as an educator, Zuccola was named Teacher of the Year by the Robbinsdale Area School District in 2020 and a Minnesota Teacher of the Year finalist in 2022.

Zuccola has a bachelor's degree in journalism with minors in English and art from Ohio University; a master's degree in American cultural studies with an emphasis in literature, film, and sociology from Purdue University; and completed a post-graduate teaching licensure program through the University of Minnesota to first enter the teaching profession. Outside of art and teaching, Zuccola enjoys music, writing, running, and spending time with his wife, his daughter, and a dog-adjacent mammal named Lexi.