ARKTalks
ArkTalks is a magazine which is published within the Royal College of Art. Victoria was one of the initiators when it was launched in London in Fall’2023, and then - its project manager.
ArkTalks aspires to revive the spirit of the ARK magazine, which was run by students at the Royal College of Art from 1950 to 1978. Born out of a student initiative, ARK evolved into one of London’s most recognized art magazines shortly after its inception. ArkTalks inherits the distinctive qualities of this historical publication, as a student-run magazine filled with art and writing enthusiasts and celebrates its enduring resonance even after more than five decades.
Drawing inspiration from ARK’s profound exploration of social context and its impact on art, our magazine engages artists, critics and curators from diverse backgrounds and nationalities. We invite them to ‘talk’ to us, interweaving their unique experiences and viewpoints within the thematic focus of each issue. These dialogues are to celebrate personal narrative in art and underscore art’s capacity as a unique language capable of delving into realms far beyond the limitations of verbal communication.
The ARKTalks magazine participated in the Offprint London event, which took place at Tate gallery in London, from 17 to 19 May 2024. It hosted independent, experimental and socially-engaged publishers in arts, architecture, design, humanities, and visual culture. Offprint is LUMA Foundation’s platform that supports qualitative and unique publishing practices specific to the arts.
One of the ARKTalks’ topics was ‘in-between-ness’ from various angles. We, the editorial team, have gathered artists across disciplines, curators, writers to see how 'in-betweenness' manifests itself in different spheres of activity, collectively constituting the sphere of Art. May you find yourself traversing the liminal spaces of thought and emotion within these pages. Through the exploration of art and the contemplation of existence, may your inner journey be as profound as the destinations we seek.
ArkTalks also took on the infinitely tricky challenge of responding to this contentious landscape of contemporary art. Compact yet dense, this issue probes contemporary art from multiple angles. We, the editorial team, examined institutional trends that forge and simultaneously reflect the contemporary art scene through a critical review on Venice Biennale; revisit scholarly arguments on evaluating art to offer insights in viewing contemporary works; trace the histories of art exhibiting spaces and transformations that reflect the broader changes in the art scene; deliver live conversations with practising artists to ask away questions on their conceptual investigation. Furthermore, we presented personal reflectives to expand on what art could potentially be.
Editorial team: Victoria Stepanets (project manager), Soyeon Jung (chief editor), Yuna Good (designer; co-editor), Elissa Lenoir Ajaka (designer), Zofia Kierkus (designer), Yeah Kim (designer), Schwarzsonne (photographer).