We are very pleased to accept the invitation to edit the Journal of Visual Art Practice, which comes at a time when much is happening in the areas that the journal addresses, as well as the world at large.
As new editors we intend to further develop the aims of the journal as a forum of debate and inquiry for research in art. As JVAP is concerned with visual art practice including its social, political and cultural frames, the journal will continue to publish contributions from researchers working in relevant fields. We would like to receive contributions that challenge the parameters of visual art and research.
While resisting the urge to predetermine these, we also recognise that the journal's agendas should evolve as a dialogue between researchers-in-the-field and the editors in tandem with our Board. Nevertheless, we wonder if – in these changing times – we will receive further rigorous and imaginative responses to some of the following: art and politics/neo-liberalism/post-truth/the ‘knowledge economy’/resistance/technology (bio-engineering/ubiquitous computing/big data)/‘social media’/post-relational aesthetics/post-art, to name but a few concerns, all of which have a broader social and political cogency.
We will further realise the journal's aims across its published platforms including its enhanced web presence, internationally and hopefully, in years to come, in standalone conferences and other initiatives intended to develop new strands of thinking, new readership and multi-disciplinary alliances. The journal currently has a good presence on the conference-scene, which we intend to sustain and develop, particularly looking for ways to engage with research agendas in academia, and related professional arenas. Beyond this, we welcome submissions from across our field, which we hope to represent in all its diversity. Suffice to say, the journal editorship has been bequeathed to us in an excellent condition with a strong subscription base, a clear rationale and a burgeoning reputation.
Chris Smith has kindly accepted to continue his important association with JVAP as our Associate Editor. However, it is appropriate at this time that our publishers and ourselves express our gratitude to Chris for his outstanding diligence and graceful approach over the years, particularly in shepherding articles and authors through the intricacies of publication. We are delighted to conclude our brief introductory comments with a reflective commentary from our previous Editor, Chris Smith.
I took over the editorship over 10 years ago assuming that it would be for a short period of time. It has been a long stint dealing with 11 volumes and 33 editions of the journal. I am remaining as an associate editor in the short term to help with the transition to the new editors, Craig and Mary Anne, who I welcome to the task.
I would like to take the opportunity here to thank all those, more important than me, who have sustained and made the journal; namely: the guest editors of special editions, the authors of articles, the reviewers and the production teams at both Intellect in the past and now Taylor and Francis not forgetting the support from the editorial board. I owe a particular debt to Ken Friedman, for his advice and support in the initial stages of my editorship as well as some robust conversations about the nature of research related to art practice.
Whilst there is a globalization of art practice this has to be examined carefully in the context of diversity, both in terms of the diversity of practices that constitute the many ‘art worlds’ as well as the cultural diversity of such ‘art worlds’. This means, as far as I am concerned, we need to reflect that diversity in the research that is published in the journal whilst maintaining a robustness and rigour in regard to standards. We need the articulation by practitioners within the journal, reminding ourselves that it is concerned with practice in art. I hope that under my editorship I fostered and maintained some aspects of this pursuit towards representing that diversity.
Editors’ profiles
Mary Anne Francis is interested in debates about the relationship between art and writing. She has pursued both these interests across a wide range of publications, editorial roles and artworks. She has a long-standing commitment to the value of writing for art. As a writer and artist educated in the tradition of critical-theoretical art practice, she has been working in the field since the mid-1990s.
Craig Richardson is also an artist and writer. He researches post-conceptual and post-minimal sculptural practices and their interplay with the vernacular. His work on Scottish art since 1960 has recently developed into a concern for environmental art in the north.