Mission

Voices in Contemporary Art (VoCA) is a non-profit organization that generates critical dialogue and collaborative programming to advance a vital model for the stewardship of contemporary art.

VoCA Journal is VoCA’s digital publication that highlights progressive artist-centric, cross-disciplinary conversations around contemporary art stewardship, creating a dynamic repository for these discussions while connecting members of our network both locally and across the globe. Contributions come from a wide variety of authors–including artists and arts professionals from all backgrounds and stages of their careers–and take the form of interviews, case studies, scholarly research, and think-pieces. To date, VoCA has published more than a dozen issues with specific series dedicated to media art preservation, artist-endowed foundations, access and the arts, and archives as raw material. In addition to text, the articles are augmented by hyperlinks, embedded videos, and high-resolution images. Each article is accessible through our current website.

The idea for this online information-sharing platform grew directly out of our other program streams–the VoCA Workshops and VoCA Talks–where many participants indicated a need in the field for a forum in which to share the outcomes of their collaborative initiatives and interviews. We realized that we could help fill that gap by creating a free, non-affiliate digital publication, and thus the Journal was born. VoCA is proud to offer this space as both an outlet and resource for our network and we look forward to seeing future iterations of the publication as they take shape.

Structure

Each issue of VoCA Journal gathers a selection of articles around a key theme, query, or critical debate, and is coordinated by the VoCA Journal Editor, Associate Editor, and VoCA’s Executive Director, in consultation with outside collaborators. Proposals for themes undergo thorough, in-depth consideration by our esteemed VoCA leadership; draft submissions are peer-reviewed via a small Editorial Committee made up of a rotating roster of VoCA board, program committee, and staff members, along with guest editors and subject specialists. The Committee additionally assists the Editor and Associate Editor with generating article ideas, liaising with authors, proof reading and promoting issues, and evaluating the efficacy and potential growth of the publication.

Editorial Committee

VoCA Journal Guest Editor
Yasmeen Siddiqui, Issue 14

VoCA Journal Editorial Committee
Margaret Graham, Associate Editor
Lauren Shadford, Executive Director, VoCA

Past Editorial Committee Members
Robin Clark, Founding Editor
Chad Alligood
Alison Gilchrest
Jen Mergel
Steven O’Banion
Sam Redman
Gloria Sutton
Arlan Huang
Jay Krueger
Kate Lewis
Christie Mitchell
Kendra Roth
Marie Watt

VoCA Journal Design
Justin Visnesky

ACCESS

VoCA Journal is a scholarly online publication that aims to facilitate the widest possible dissemination of original research and interviews that address the topic of contemporary art stewardship. We encourage non-commercial, educational use. If you have questions about quoting or reproducing any of the material found in this publication, please reach out to our Associate Editor at margaret@voca.network.