The publication A Prior Magazine developed — initially as A-Prior — in 1999 out of the Brussels based artists’ collective “Etablissement d’en Face”. From the outset, it has been the magazine’s aim to emphasize close collaboration with artists and authors and to create unique moments and documents, so as to bring forward the depth and breadth of artistic practice, rather than publishing short reviews or brief descriptive articles. The publication has continued to expand its focus internationally, even if attention for ‘local’ artists (living and working in the Low Countries) always remains part of its focus. This internationalisation has in turn required an enlargement of the editorial board. A Prior Magazine currently engages authors and curators from many corners of Europe: Andrea Wiarda (Milan), Monika Szewczyk (Berlin/Rotterdam) and Dieter Roelstraete (Berlin/Antwerp) form the core of the editorial team under chief editor Els Roelandt (based in Ghent), and are further supported by a larger board: Aneta Szylak (Gdansk), Anders Kreuger (Lund), Mai Abu Eldahab (Antwerp), Raimundas Malasauskas (Vilnius), Ann Demeester (Amsterdam), Dirk Snauwaert (Brussels), Annie Fletcher (Eindhoven), Philip Van den Bossche (Oostende) and Hilde Van Gelder (Leuven).
It may be said that any issue of A Prior involves intense collaboration and somehow practically engages with the idea. One thing that distinguishes A Prior Magazine from other publications is the team’s interest in defining content, not at an arm’s length distance from the artists featured (a ‘critical distance’ that has perhaps traditionally been thought of as a requirement of good journalism), but in close collaboration with these artists. Developing artists’ projects entails a degree of give-and-take, often requiring the editorial team to give up the pages to the artist, but also encouraging artists’ treatment of the magazine as a true work/exhibition space. Essays are also often understood as an extension of intense dialogue and further generate a sense of ‘critical proximity’. It should be noted that the Visions section of A Prior does not quite work in this way—instead it offers opportunities for other discursive approaches to enter the fray and offset the monographic essays. But it too is often sympathetic to writing that cuts against the grain of what we see available in other periodicals—many essays are the product of extensive research and/or daring speculation and tend to result in texts that are too unusual or simply too long to gain voice in the mainstream.
A PRIOR MAGAZINE is a series of publications on contemporary art. The magazine is published by vzw Mark and the University College Ghent, in English and distributed all over the world in specialized art “bookstores and museums”.
A Prior is a monographic and visionary journal, assembling and commissioning critical text and artists’ work. For each issue the work of three artists is chosen as a starting point for in-depth analysis and artists’ projects. After the monographic and artistic contributions, the last section of A Prior Magazine, VISIONS, consists of a series of textual as well as visual columns comments on contemporary developments and discussions in the fields of art and visual culture.
Publisher: vzw Mark (A Prior Magazine) and University College, departement of Visual Arts and Design, Ghent, Belgium Board of Editors : Mai Abu ElDahab, Ann Demeester, Annie Fletcher, Sofie Lauwers, Anders Kreuger, Raimundas Malasauskas, Els Roelandt, Dieter Roelstraete, Monika Szewczyk, Dirk Snauwaert, Aneta Szylak, Phillip Van Den Bossche, Hilde Van Gelder, Andrea Wiarda Editor in Chief : Els Roelandt Executive Editors : Monika Szewczyk, Andrea Wiarda Research and Circulation : Maria Rac Design : N.N. (Jurgen Persijn), Brussels, Belgium Printing : Die Keure, Brugge, Belgium Edition : 2000 copies
webdesign and technology : wetnet / dominique callewaert Content editor website : Andrea Wiarda
Board of directors : Chair : Francis De Beir Secretary : ... Treasurer : Pieter Van Reybroeck Members : Wim De Temmerman, Chantal Desmet, Sofie Lauwers, Els Roelandt, Dieter Roelstraete, Joannes Vanheddegem, Wim Waelput
A Prior Magazine has offices in Ghent, Milan and Berlin
A PRIOR Magazine is SUPPORTED BY :
The Ministry of the Flemish Community
The Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) of the University College Ghent
BAM
