Art Jewelry Forum is committed to publishing original, high-quality texts about contemporary art jewelry from established writers as well as new writers and thinkers to the field. Our goal is to provide our readership with challenging, up-to-date, and critical content loosely related to the concerns of art jewelry.
Our editorial mission is to report on the field at large. This includes contemporary practice, the long history that informs it, and the activities of this field’s large constituency: artists, dealers, collectors, writers, and curators.
We are interested in reporting on the field, but also for the field. This means we will accept articles on art, craft and design theory, gender, fashion, literature, or new technology from contributors within and outside the field.
With this wide mandate in mind, the organization will publish different genres of content, online and potentially in print, in hopes of achieving the balance necessary to serve our diverse readership. Examples include academic essays, blog-style polemics, reviews, personal essays, journalistic coverage, and so on.
AJF faces a difficult challenge when producing critical reviews in a field that has resisted serious and considered statements expressing opinions or points of view. Although critical dialogue has flourished in academic settings, thoughtful and informed documentation of the concepts and expectations of the field have been few and far between. It is our belief that an honest appraisal of the work and products related to contemporary art jewelry is vital to a healthy cultural environment. Legitimacy for contemporary art jewelry is won by forming convincing arguments for its value in the conceptual, as well as financial, realm.
In a relatively small sector like ours, there will often be conflicting responsibilities and obligations. A few simple ethical principles guide AJF’s choices of content and writers; these principles are important to the distinction between critical reporting and promotion:
1. Organizers and/or curators of an exhibition cannot review their own event or exhibition because of the inherent conflict of interest.
2. For similar reasons, jewelers cannot review their own work.
3. Reviews of exhibitions, symposia, or performances will always be based on an actual, on-site engagement with the event, unless direct reporting is not physically possible (because the subject of a review is a historical show, for example).
AJF works to maintain the integrity and independence that allow our readers to rely on our judgment. This tension can be managed, as long as we are alert to the dangers and strive to ensure that we always behave ethically.
Responsibility of Writers
- AJF accepts the content with the understanding that it is the writer’s own, original work.
- Quotations should always credited to their original source.
- It is the writer’s responsibility to procure copyright for the images they submit with their content. AJF is happy to assist with questions related to image copyright.
- All text will be reviewed by a copy editor to proof the text. AJF will work with the writer to ensure any changes to the text are acceptable. However, AJF has the final say on what is published.
Regarding Reviews
A review should
- provide factual information about the exhibition, book, or event
- identify the aims of the exhibition, book, or event
- evaluate the exhibition, book, or event’s success, doing so in context—for example of prior work, or previous curations/shows, or earlier events
- be positioned as an opinion piece
- clearly state the reviewer’s reaction to the exhibition, book, or event
- offer constructive feedback or perspective on the exhibition, book, or event
Image Copyrights
Images are always credited to their author, and no image is ever reproduced unless prior consent has been granted to us.
Responsibility of AJF
It is AJF’s responsibility when accepting content for the website to ask about possible conflicts of interest and networks of obligations that might affect the writer’s ability to perform the task. It is our task to identify these and, if conflicts can’t be avoided, declare them to our readers.
If the above standards are not met, or if a text is found wanting, either because it is not sufficiently informed or articulated, and/or because the author does not engage with editorial feedback, AJF reserves the right to withhold publication.
If factual errors are made known to us, we will correct the relevant text, or caption, as promptly as possible.
Should the publication of an article elicit a contradictory response—and if that response engages with the original article in a thoughtful, non-abusive, and non-vindictive manner—and its author agrees to follow our usual editorial procedure, we will publish it.
Compensation
AJF is dedicated to treating the work of writers with respect, and we pride ourselves on compensating writers who publish on AJF. However, we have a limited budget. The basic breakdown of compensation is as follows:
- $350 for interviews
- $425 for reviews
- $500 for researched articles
Please return to the Original Submission page to complete your submission.