About Proximity

The producers of Version Festival are announcing a call for proposals for a new project, Proximity magazine. We are seeking writers and critics to join us in producing the beta issue.

:: what is going on::

Proximity is a Chicago-based magazine dedicated to contemporary art and culture. Our mission is to amplify discourse on local and global art ecologies. We hope to serve as a map - of artists, collectives and alternative spaces, as well as commercial galleries, museums and universities - connecting and cultivating sustainable creative communities.

We want to see our practices in proximity to each other. We want to see comprehensive coverage of art practices in Chicago and beyond. Our hope is to promote healthy, diverse and participatory art worlds for all. We feel now is always the time to bring allied fronts in art and culture, criticism and production to a wider audience. We feel that a magazine which covers a wider range of art practice in the city and beyond can help fuel an increased awareness of art in the Chicago mediaverse.

:: specifics ::

Alongside thematic essays and articles, Proximity will feature artist, space and collector profiles, exhibition reviews, critical essays on contemporary art practices, high quality portfolio reproductions, columns and commentary on Chicago and regional art scenes, and an extensive directory. In addition, the magazine's online component will feature city guidebooks, a database of gallery, space, and event listings, up-to-date exhibition and artist reviews, discussions, and commentary too.

Our first issue has a Chicago-centric mapping theme. We are focusing on cultural networks, artist maps, and essays features related to local projects, Version Festival, and the art fairs. We would also like to connect to other mapping projects and projects concerned with experimental geographies, networks and investigations of work that deserve wider critical coverage. We hope to connect Chicago's activities to the rest of the world. And we need your help.

The inaugural issue will be launched during Chicago's springtime art fairs, in April of 2008, and released as part of Version Festival and NEXT Art Fair. 7-10,000 copies will be freely distributed at NEXT which runs concurrently with Art Chicago. Proximity will be presented in all of NEXT's materials and events. The publication will also be given away at all Version Art Festival locations and events. Additional copies will be distributed at galleries, museums, cultural institutions as well as select bookstores and cafés throughout the city and around the world.