I am not going to lie. I was more than a little thrown off when we pulled in front of an old school. I was even more thrown off the more we walked through the halls of the building trying to find Art Papers, and I was more than a little confused as to what was going on. It seems this old school has found a new purpose being office spaces or what seems like artist studios. I really love the concept of reusing old buildings and turning them into community spaces or public spaces, it’s the historian in me. Eventually, we found Art Papers situated on the second floor.
Art Papers was founded in the 1970s in an effort to serve artists and bring them together in the area. Art Papers goes beyond just art, the magazine’s mission is centered around the issue of “art and ______”. Art and the environemt. Art and urban development. Art and history. Art and whatever you can insert into the phrase. This moves the magazine beyond just the aesthetic and adds more to the publication in my opinion.
Hearing Saskia talks about the organization and the running of the paper brought up the issues that small publications and small organizations such as this face in terms of finding funding and carving out a purpose. It was fun going to Art Papers and learning about the many different hats someone working in the creative field can have. Saskia herself having experience working in a museum and now helping to run a publication. It gave us all a taste of the possibility in the real world, plus we got 4 of their newest editions and who can complain about that.
