RAMIFICATIONS - Tracing Ramifications: The Contemporary Artists' Periodical in the Expanded Field of Arts Publishing

RAMIFICATIONS investigates the central role of the contemporary artists’ periodical in mediating and driving shifts in the art, communication and publishing systems. Since the early 2000s, artists’ periodicals have become sprawling and live structures, engendering new business models and expansive modalities, collaborations and networks. These periodicals, produced by artists as part of their own language and work, offer a rich opportunity to analyse the expanded field of art publishing and to think critically about contemporary art’s fluid, accelerated and networked expressions. Deep art historical questions concerning art’s autonomy, the meaning of public, collectivity, communication and knowledge in current artistic and publishing practices will be explored through a cross-disciplinary, case study and practice-enhanced approach that will offer the theoretical vocabulary and practical tools to comprehend the fluidity and expansiveness that this project aims to investigate. Curating an artists’ periodical exhibition, conceiving and hosting a 4-episode podcast on art publishing and organising an international workshop on expanded publishing, will not only complement the research’s findings, but outline new directions in this growing field of study. By focusing on 3 global artists’ periodicals—e-flux, Chimurenga and White Fungus—the research contributes to the wider goal of giving voice to marginal stories, situated outside of the North-Western axis. Studying and communicating these histories and contributions to the developments of 21st century art is an important step towards changing public perceptions, encouraging inclusivity and correcting inequalities in the way art is interpreted. The GF will be carried out at the San Francisco State University, Università Iuav di Venezia and at the Triennale di Milano to develop my skills and competencies and allow me to become a leading scholar in contemporary art history and publishing.