At an unprecedented moment of uncertainty, how might art and cultural institutions convene conversations about survival and resistance, sociality and care? The Contemporary Journal is a digital-first publishing platform edited by Nottingham Contemporary’s Public Programmes and Research. It practises imaginative forms of knowledge production, locating the institution as a site which remains lively in face of the otherwise.
The Contemporary Journal explores the public programme’s long-term research strands, widens its community, and brings together interdisciplinary modes of enquiry in the fields of critical theory, artistic research, the curatorial, and visual cultures. It is committed to broadening forms of study and critique, commissioning and publishing new research in multiple formats: essays, poetry, video and audio. All issues are open access and commons-based.
Launched in 2018, our first issue, On Translations, explored translation as a “site of epistemic inhabitation” rather than a transitional space between the original and translated text. Critical Pedagogies, the journal’s second issue, investigates the capacities of education to rehearse new forums for critical thinking beyond the pedagogical imperative. It runs in parallel with our free, year-long and city-wide independent study programme CAMPUS, and encompasses a special issue guest-edited with e-flux Architecture.
This week, we launch a new issue, titled Sonic Continuum. It traces practices of world-making through sound, both as a force that constitutes the world and a medium for producing knowledge about it. The issue includes contributions from Ama Josephine Budge, Radio Earth Hold, Steve Goodman (Kode9), Toby Heys, Eleni Ikoniadou, Hannah Catherine Jones, Pedro Neves Marques, Jota Mombaça, Bhavisha Panchia, and Sung Tieu, among others. Embracing our uncertain futures, Sonic Continuum takes an editorial approach to our latest research strand, questioning how our programmes can become public in digital space and exceed the temporality of an event-based format.
