A Letter to Our Readers
We're launching a three-year strategic plan designed to celebrate the legacy of Art Papers, to mobilize the organization’s resources in service to the cultural community, and to thoughtfully arrive at meaningful and controlled conclusion of operations in 2026, at 50 years.
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Dear friends and readers,
Art Papers is changing. With our newly appointed Executive + Artistic Director, Sarah Higgins at the helm, we are launching a three-year strategic plan designed to celebrate the legacy of Art Papers, to mobilize the organization’s resources in service to the cultural community, and to thoughtfully arrive at meaningful and controlled conclusion of operations in 2026, at 50 years.
This new direction was prompted by systemic challenges that are not unique to Art Papers. Art Papers is impacted by systemic instability across all the sectors we intersect—publishing, art criticism, and mid-size arts nonprofits most crucially. We feel these challenges present an opportunity to acknowledge the complex situation faced by arts organizations today with transparency, and to address them publicly. These activities will fertilize the ground from which new arts platforms and practices will emerge.
During the next three years, Art Papers will continue to publish diverse voices and meaningful themes on ARTPAPERS.org. We’ll feature more archival texts online, too. And we’ll celebrate the cultural significance of our 50-year history by publishing a hardback “50 Years of Art Papers” book. We’ll also complete our archives, which are held by Emory University.
Art Papers will focus on producing thoughtfully designed programming to address the challenges faced by the nonprofit arts sector—locally and nationally. The organization will facilitate research and public programs that examine new ways to define success and sustainability for arts institutions. We’ll host a national symposium on the state of arts writing and publishing today; and ultimately, we’ll publish the outcomes of these programs so our communities may benefit from the knowledge produced.
We are already laying the groundwork for this next chapter, but this plan can only succeed with the support of our community—aka, you. We are optimistic you’ll continue to support us during these next three years by engaging with our content, attending our programs, and donating to Art Papers. Although the eventual end of Art Papers is difficult news to share, we are truly invigorated by the meaningful work ahead. We hope you are, too!