Burnaway is an Atlanta-based, non-profit magazine of contemporary art and criticism from the American South, published online weekly and in print annually. Through its editorial program and cultivation of emerging arts writers and journalists, Burnaway connects the region’s diverse creative communities and develops exchange between Southern art, and the national and international arts audiences.
Since 2008, the magazine has brought vital critical dialogue to the issues facing Southern artists, institutions, curators, and writers, who often represent the country’s most pressing social and cultural challenges. Founded on the mandate that criticism is a vital part of a sustainable arts ecosystem, Burnaway’s editorial program of essays, MOOD RINGS, exhibition reviews, and interviews, brings long-overdue focus on contemporary artists in the region. Burnaway trains regional writers through our ART WRITING INCUBATOR, who, in turn, bring attention to Southern artists and can speak to their unique practices, histories and sensibilities.
Covering thirteen states and Puerto Rico, Burnaway’s acknowledgment of the dispersed structure of Southern identity models a vision for an equitable, decentralized art world, and demands space for the voices, labor, and art of BIPOC, disabled, queer, rural and DIY artists, writers, and institutions.
Burnaway both documents and participates in the cultural landscape of the South today—from Appalachia to Miami, Nashville to New Orleans. Instead of relying on easy conventions or common wisdom, Burnaway continues to ask and wonder, What is the South?
Burnaway is a 501(c)(3) organization and has been certified by W.A.G.E.PEOPLE
PLATFORMS
BURNAWAY MAGAZINE features critical essays, interviews, and artist projects that give voice to the burgeoning but dispersed art world of the contemporary South. In 2022, the magazine’s publishing activities are guided by three editorial themes: Non Human, Invasive Species and Artist Environments.
BA DAILY contains regularly published informational resources, including weekly staff picks and a monthly call for artists, as well as short-form exhibition reviews, bi-weekly news roundups, and the DIY Index.
MOOD RING is Burnaway’s artist column, a platform for experimentation and collaboration across the fields of visual art and online publishing. Each installment of Mood Ring takes its own form according to the particular specifications of the project.
ART GUIDES are resources for exploring the cultural offerings of major Southern cities and regions (Alabama, Atlanta, Athens, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, North Carolina and Richmond). Each guide includes a comprehensive list of and information on each city’s major museums, galleries, and DIY spaces.
ART WRITING INCUBATOR (AWrI) is Burnaway’s signature annual writing intensive, which cultivates the next generation of critics through a series of day-long workshops with leading culture writers from around the country and one-on-one tutorials with Burnaway’s editors.
Interested in sponsoring our programs and making a meaningful contribution to the arts in the South? Burnaway offers a variety of options for getting engaged. Please email [email protected] for details.
PITCHES
Magazine Proposals
Building on our commitment to publishing thoughtful, rigorous writing on contemporary art in the South today, Burnaway will expand the magazine by producing long-form articles on three themes annually. Stories, projects, and other media related to each theme will be published simultaneously throughout the year in order to produce a cohesive inquiry into aspects of Southern culture and life. We also accept pitches year round of long form interviews, profiles, reviews and essays that are not related to one of our three yearly themes.
Reviews
Burnaway accepts submissions of and pitches for short-form exhibition reviews (400 – 600 words). Writers whose pitches are accepted are compensated at a rate of $150. Pitches and submissions for exhibition reviews should be sent to [email protected] Submissions should include two samples of previous writing.
conflict of interest policy
Burnaway will not consider contributions regarding: the artwork of someone with whom the writer has a familial relationship; the work of an artist, gallery, or institution with whom the writer has a current or previous financial relationship or internship; any gallery that represents their work; any gallery institutionally related to the organization employing the writer. We do not accept pitches for exhibition reviews directly from participating artists. We also will not accept submissions by a writer whom the gallery or artist has paid or commissioned to write the article in question.
EDITORIAL ADVISORY
We strongly advise against name dropping or making cursory references to victims of police violence and murder. Out of respect for their families, and our Black editorial staff, these mentions are at risk of omission without explanation. If you would like to support the loved ones of these countless individuals, many families have created legacy funds that you can donate to online.
REGION
We accept pitches related to the following states and associated artists: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico.
If you are in Miami, Carolinas or Louisiana, please email your assigned Editor.
Our editorial calendar is set up to 30 days in advance. Please pitch well in advance of a show opening or closing with this in mind. Payment is issued at the end of every month.
Please email Editorial if you have further questions.
