Since the launch of the Art21 Magazine in 2007 (then the Art21 Blog), contributors, guest bloggers, and fellow arts organizations have investigated a variety of arts-related topics through short-term columns.
Listed here in order from most recent to least, this page archives all of the editorial projects undertaken by the Art21 Blog.
“Revolution 2.1“
by Safa Samiezade’-Yazd
2012-2013
“Revolution 2.1” focused on the second chapter of the Arab Spring, from the creative expression that flourished within both the establishment and underground–documenting, questioning and reflecting the cultural and societal changes of a country rebuilding itself in the 21st century.
“Transmission“
by Amelia Ishmael
2012-2013
An exploration of the broader relationship between art and rock music, highlighting projects that interweave the subcultures found in both. With a special interest in artworks that engage Rock, Punk, and Metal, “Transmission” was devoted to recording the sites where light and sound currents collide, intermix, and inform one another.
“Flash Points“
by various contributors
2008-2013
A monthly conversational series focusing on relevant art world issues, “Flash Points” considered contemporary art education and issues artists face today. Topics like How can art effect political change? and How do we experience art? were consistently investigated by contributors.
“Postcards“
by Art21
2013
“Postcards” was a project asking contemporary artists living or working outside of the United States to mail a postcard to the Art21 office, which was then scanned and published online.
“Center Field: Art in the Middle with Bad at Sports“
A collaboration with Chicago-based art podcast Bad at Sports
2010-2013
Since 2005, Bad at Sports’ podcast and blog have acted as a guide to the Chicago art scene through interviews and editorials with artists and cultural practitioners. With “Center Field: Art in the Middle with Bad at Sports,” the team brought their content to Art21’s readers.
“Cairo in Context: Art and Change in the Middle East“
by Ania Szremski
2012
Launched on the one-year anniversary of the Tahrir Square uprisings in Egypt, “Cairo in Context” charted a course between “uncritical celebrations of the utopian idea of ‘free expression’ in a post-Mubarak era… and sober admonitions that the visual arts don’t, or can’t, have a responsibility towards the current political context.”
“Bound: The Printed Object in Context“
by Meg Onli
2011-2012
“Bound” looked at a side of publications that’s rarely discussed: the book’s status as a designed object. The column’s purview included limited edition art books and artist’s books, along with exhibition catalogues, e-books, and other cultural publications.
“Calling from Canada“
by Raji Sohal
2010-2012
“Calling from Canada” chronicled the burgeoning art scene across the border. The column delivered the goods on exhibitions taking place in cities like Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver, and looked at how art shapes and contributes to a changing Canadian cultural landscape.
“Problematic: Answering Questions with Questions“
by Lindsay Lawson
2011
Aimed at diffusing, rather than shedding light on subjects that are particularly tricky, paradoxical, and well… problematic, this column borrowed its name from artist, Guthrie Lonergan, who suggested “Problematic” as an exhibition title, playing on its buzzword status that has become all too ubiquitous, peppering the rhetoric of art discourses.
“Turkish and Other Delights“
by Elizabeth Wolfson
2011
Devoted to exploring contemporary art practice in Turkey, this column served as a space for both reflection and documentation as the author traveled throughout the country interviewing artists, curators, and gallerists, and reviewing exhibitions, museums, and galleries.
“Future Metaphors“
by Ivan Lozano
2010
“Future Metaphors” featured art and art writing that was inspired by ideas of cyborg anthropology. Let’s call it cyborg criticism (in blog form).
“GIF(t) Basket“
by Art21 Curator Wesley Miller
2010
Wesley Miller watched Bravo’s Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, frame by frame, and attempted to uncover what it all meant through the medium of animated GIFs.
“BOMB in the Building“
A collaboration with BOMB Magazine
2009
BOMB Magazine brought a selection of their interviews with artists, writers, poets, architects, actors, and playwrights to their own column on the Art21 Blog.
