Burnaway is an Atlanta-based, non-profit magazine of contemporary art and criticism from the American South and the Caribbean, 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 art 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 a 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 the Caribbean, 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 features critical essays, interviews, and artist projects that give voice to the burgeoning but dispersed art world of the contemporary South.
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 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 engagement. Please email [email protected] for details.
PITCHES
Burnaway is committed to publishing thoughtful, rigorous writing on contemporary art in the South, the Caribbean, and the Southern diaspora. We accept pitches related to the following states and associated artists: Alabama, Arkansas, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas (with emphasis on Houston), Virginia, West Virginia, and the Caribbean.
WHAT WE LOOK FOR:
We accept proposals for short and long-form reviews, interviews, studio visits, profiles, essays, and theme-specific essays. Daily includes short-form reviews or studio visits are no more than 800 words. Magazine contributions are deep-dive, long-form essays and theme-specific projects that are typically no more than 1,800 words. Themes for the Magazine are released annually. Stories, projects, and other media related to each theme will be published to produce a cohesive inquiry into aspects of Southern culture and life.
WRITING A PITCH:
Pitches should address the subject and proposed format of the proposal, any time-sensitive information (for example, the exhibition’s opening and closing dates), as well as the subject’s relevance to Burnaway’s mission. Pitches should be as specific as possible and offer a unique point of view on the proposed subject. It is preferred that pitches address the writer’s expertise in relation to the subject matter. Expertise is not exclusively scholarly, lived experience and personal background are relevant. We discourage pitching finalized texts. Pitches from writers new to Burnaway should include two samples of previous writing.
Our editorial calendar is set up to 45 days in advance. Please pitch well before a show opening or closing with this in mind.
WHO TO PITCH:
For pitches specific to Houston, the Caribbean, the Carolinas, and New Orleans, email the relevant editor directly.
All Magazine and other pitches should be submitted to [email protected].
We do not accept phone calls.
If you want to list your opening/exhibition/other event with Burnaway, please consult our To-Do List page. Listing there does not guarantee coverage.
RATE:
Per our WAGE certification, Burnaway pays .30/word. Payment is issued within 30 days following publication and must be deposited within 90 days of receipt.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY
Burnaway will not consider:
- contributions regarding the artwork of someone with whom the writer has a familial or close personal relationship
- contributions regarding the work of an artist, gallery, or institution with whom the writer has a current or previous financial relationship or internship
- any gallery institutionally related to the organization employing the writer
- contributions for exhibition reviews directly from participating artists or curators
- contributions about co-workers or submissions from a student proposing to write about a current teacher
We also will not accept submissions by a writer whom the gallery or artist has paid or commissioned to write the article in question.
ADVISORY
We strongly advise against name-dropping or making cursory references to victims of state violence. 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.
Please email our editorial inbox if you have further questions.
