Open Call for Critical Writing
Art Beyond Contemporary (ABC) invites artists, writers, musicians, researchers, and cultural practitioners to submit critical writing engaging with artistic practice across visual art, Hindustani classical music, craft and similar disciplines.
This open call is an invitation to write with attentiveness: to look closely, listen deeply, and reflect carefully on how practices are formed, sustained, and understood.
This Open Call Is About
Practice, Context, and Critique
Across artistic and cultural practices such as visual art, Hindustani classical music, and craft, practice is not preparatory, it is generative. Whether through riyaaz, repeated gestures, or sustained making, practice is where thinking unfolds.
We invite writing that
-considers the limits and possibilities of form and language, and situates bodies of work within broader cultural, social, material, political, and lived contexts.
-does not merely questiones and reflect without hostility; it interrogates, resists, and unsettles dominant narratives, making visible what is overlooked and insisting on doubt, failure, and contradiction as necessary disruptions.
We Are Looking For
- Critical essays
- Artist- or practitioner-led reflections
- Contextual writing grounded in lived experience
- Conversations or interviews that foreground process and thinking
This Open Call Is For
- Visual artists
- Hindustani classical musicians
- Craft practitioners
- Writers and researchers
- Curators and educators
- Cultural practitioners working across disciplines
We particularly welcome voices from regional, non-metropolitan, and underrepresented contexts.
How to Participate
Submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Word count: 1500–2000 words
Language: English
Eligibility: Original, unpublished writing only
Submission Guidelines
Please ensure:
- The text is original and unpublished
- The writing engages critically with visual art, Hindustani classical music, craft or similar discourse
- The piece treats practice as a form of knowledge
- The work is situated within relevant cultural, social, or lived contexts
- The critique is constructive and ethical, not promotional
- Any images included are optional, properly credited, and rights-cleared
- The file is prepared as a Google Doc or PDF
Why Write for ABC
- Accepted submissions will be published on the Art Beyond Contemporary website with full author credit and bio.
- Your work will reach artists, practitioners, curators, researchers, and cultural institutions engaging with contemporary practice in South Asia and beyond.
- Selected essays will be featured in our annual digital anthology, distributed widely as a shared resource.
- Published work is actively promoted across our networks and social media platforms.
- Contributors may be featured in curated reading events and public conversations.
- Participate in shaping critical discourse around artistic practice, craft, and music in India.
- Join a community committed to thoughtful, regionally grounded perspectives.
- Contribute to a growing resource for practitioners, students, and researchers.
- As Art Beyond Contemporary grows, strong contributors may be invited for commissioned essays or collaborative projects.
We invite you to write not to conclude, but to open questions.
