This month, St. Thomas sophomore Ava McFarlane debuted the 612 Collection at the Honey nightclub in Minneapolis.

McFarlane started the 612 Collection as a platform to unify the Minneapolis art and music community. She hopes to gather musicians and artists by hosting events at local venues.

“I was noticing while I was going out that there were a lot of cliques in the music scene, so I wanted to create a brand that would bring together all of these cliques under one roof,” McFarlane said.

The 612 Collection debuted with a hip-hop show. Four local artists performed 25-minute sets, and the night concluded with an hour-long DJ set. McFarlane wanted to keep the first event simple, and she knew hip-hop was the right genre to get people excited about the future of the 612 Collection.

“It’s going to be strictly a hip-hop show, just to try and get people really pumped for the brand in general (and) to come to later shows, which will have more art, more jazz, reggae,” McFarlane said. “It will be a lot more variety.”

McFarlane currently has three more events in the works. She has about eight artists lined up for a photography showcase and has plans for a live reggae band concert. She eventually hopes to do an interactive event and allow the audience to get involved.

Every artist McFarlane features is independent and younger than 22, both key components to the curation of the 612 Collection.

“It’s such a huge deal that people so young are starting to become the minds behind all the cool stuff that is happening,” McFarlane said. “The point of this for me is being a little guy to bring light to all the other little guys.”

Senior and Music Industry Club president Nick Meyerson attended the 612 Collection’s debut in support of McFarlane, who is also a member of MIC.

“I am always in support of safe spaces for artists and supporters of art to gather together and share their tricks-of-trade,” Meyerson said. “The best part for me was seeing so many people come out and show their love.”

Meyerson said he’s excited to see where McFarlane’s entrepreneurial skills take the 612 Collection in the future. He believes that any collective that stays focused on the music and the artists will be successful.

“Press, fads, and monetary value fade, but music that touches the soul can never be forgotten or erased. I’m excited to see where Ava and her entrepreneurial ideas go from here,” he said. “It’s exactly what we try to illustrate in our meetings for Music Industry Club: Go outside of your comfort zone, connect with others in a real way and stay humble. The world is yours.”

McFarlane considers herself a neo-soul and neo-R&B artist and already has performances booked every month from September to January.

“I have a really weird sound, but people seem to dig it,” she said, comparing her style to that of Alicia Keys.

McFarlane hopes to turn the 612 Collection into a nonprofit and donate earnings to organizations in Minneapolis.

Emily Coon can be reached at coon8192@stthomas.edu.