Art Monthly

Art Monthly
Title	Art Monthly
Frequency	Monthly
Founded	1976
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Art Monthly

Art Monthly is a British contemporary visual arts magazine founded in 1976 that covers painting, sculpture, installation, performance, photography, curating and criticism. It reports on exhibitions, projects and debates across London, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and international hubs such as New York, Berlin, Paris and Tokyo, and engages with institutions including the Tate Modern, the British Council, the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the National Gallery and the British Museum. The magazine has been associated with major personalities, events and organisations in the late 20th and early 21st centuries such as Brian Sewell, Caroline Smith, Grayson Perry, Tracey Emin and the Venice Biennale.

History

Founded amid the cultural shifts of the mid-1970s, Art Monthly emerged alongside other periodicals and initiatives shaped by debates that involved the Arts Council of Great Britain, the Socialist Workers Party cultural movements, and the avant-garde scenes of Brick Lane and Soho. Early issues documented exhibitions at the Whitechapel Gallery, the Serpentine Gallery and the formative programming of the Institute of Contemporary Arts while chronicling developments tied to figures such as Gilbert & George, Derek Jarman and Barbara Hepworth. During the 1980s the magazine reported on exhibitions linked to the Hayward Gallery, the expansion of the British Council's international programme, and controversies surrounding public sculpture commissions in cities like Liverpool and Birmingham. In the 1990s it covered the rise of the Young British Artists alongside retrospectives at the Royal Academy of Arts and critical interventions triggered by exhibitions at the Serpentine Gallery and Tate Britain. Into the 2000s and 2010s Art Monthly continued to track biennales, auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's, and institutional shifts at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, and the Centre Pompidou.

Coverage and Editorial Profile

The magazine combines reviews, feature essays, interviews and polemics centred on contemporary practice. Regular coverage engages artists and curators such as Anish Kapoor, Marina Abramović, Cornelia Parker, Yoshitomo Nara and Ai Weiwei, as well as theorists and critics connected to the Frankfurt School, the British School at Rome residencies and academic departments at institutions like Goldsmiths, University of London and the Royal College of Art. It documents exhibitions at major venues—Tate Modern, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Neue Nationalgalerie—while also reviewing projects in alternative spaces like FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology), artist-run spaces in Glasgow, Bristol and Leeds, and university galleries at Manchester School of Art. Editorially the magazine has published commentaries on policy decisions by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, funding shifts related to the Arts Council England and debates around acquisitions by institutions including the British Museum and Tate Modern.

Contributors and Editorial Staff

Contributors have included curators, critics and historians who also operate within institutions such as the Courtauld Institute of Art, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Hayward Gallery, and the Whitechapel Gallery. Notable writers and editors associated with the magazine’s pages have engaged with artists like Rachel Whiteread, Damien Hirst, Yayoi Kusama, and Pipilotti Rist, and with curatorial figures connected to the Biennale of Sydney, the Whitney Biennial and the Documenta exhibitions. Editorial staff historically drew on networks formed at editorial offices in London, with links to publishing houses such as Tate Publishing, Phaidon Press and Thames & Hudson. Guest editors and contributors have also come from academic posts at University College London, King's College London and Goldsmiths, University of London.

Circulation and Distribution

Distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally, the magazine reaches readers in cultural capitals including London, New York, Berlin, Paris, Milan and Hong Kong. It is stocked by museum shops at venues such as the Tate Modern, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art (New York), and sold by specialist retailers operating alongside auction houses like Christie's and Sotheby's. Circulation models have adapted from print subscriptions and newsstand sales to incorporate digital access, newsletters and partnerships with festival organisers such as the Frieze Art Fair and the London Design Festival. Institutional subscriptions extend to libraries and departments at the Courtauld Institute of Art, the Slade School of Fine Art and the Royal College of Art.

Reception and Influence

The magazine has been cited in exhibition catalogues, academic monographs and cultural policy debates, influencing discourse around practices associated with conceptual art, performance art, public art and debates catalysed by shows at the Serpentine Gallery, the Tate Modern and the V&A. Its critiques and features have prompted responses from artists represented by galleries such as Hauser & Wirth, Gagosian Gallery, White Cube and regional spaces including Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. It has been referenced in media coverage by outlets like the Guardian newspaper, the Times Literary Supplement and broadcast programs on the BBC.

Special Issues and Projects

Special issues have focused on events and themes tied to the Venice Biennale, the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Whitney Museum, and national surveys from countries such as China, Brazil, India and South Africa. The magazine has organised roundtables and symposia involving curators and critics from the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the Serpentine Gallery and university departments at Goldsmiths, University of London and the Courtauld Institute of Art. Collaborative projects have linked to festivals including Frieze Art Fair, biennials and institutional anniversary commissions at venues like the Royal Academy of Arts and the Tate Modern.

Category:Magazines published in the United Kingdom