Burnaway is an Atlanta-based magazine of contemporary art and criticism from the American South. We publish online weekly and in print annually.
Since 2008, the magazine has brought vital critical dialogue to one of the most politically polarized, historically fraught, ecologically threatened, and economically disadvantaged parts of the United States. The issues facing Southern artists, institutions, curators, and writers often represent the country’s most pressing social and cultural challenges. Despite this, contemporary art in and from the region receives little national coverage or inclusion in major survey exhibitions, and even less internationally.
Through essays, artist projects, exhibition reviews, and interviews, Burnaway both documents and participates in the vibrant 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?
In addition to its publishing activities, Burnaway annually hosts the Art Writing Incubator, a five-week intensive for emerging art writers and critics, and other public programs.
Burnaway is a 501(c)(3) organization and has been certified by W.A.G.E.PEOPLE
Job Opportunities:
Executive Director
Burnaway’s Board of Directors is seeking an experienced professional to lead the magazine. To learn more about the position and to apply, please follow the link below.
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 2021, the magazine’s publishing activities are guided by three editorial themes: Word of Mouth, Belief and Fiction, and Nodes and Networks.
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, artist 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 around of long form interviews, profiles, 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 $100. 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.
REGION
We accept pitches related to the following states and associated artists: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico.
If you are in the Carolinas or Louisiana, please email your assigned Editors-at-Large.
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.
