ELSEHERE STRATUM Journal Open Call

STRATUM is a journal for research-driven art writing and practice-led discourse. They publish essays, artist writing, interviews, dossiers, and cultural criticism that take contemporary practice seriously, with clarity, rigor, and voice. Submit your work. They will curate it, frame it, and place it in a lasting public context.

Why Submit to STRATUM?
This is not a one-off post. STRATUM is designed to build durable visibility.
1) Editorial framing that makes your work legible
They work with selected contributors to present work with context: titles, abstracts, captions, references, and editorial structure that makes it legible to readers outside your immediate circle.
2) A stable, citable publication record
Selected pieces live as lasting pages designed for citation and reuse in applications, portfolios, and institutional contexts.
3) Curatorial continuity and future pathways
They treat submissions as part of a longer relationship. Selected artists and writers may be considered for future commissions, co-productions, partner introductions, programs, and long-term collaborations within the ELSEHERE ecosystem. STRATUM welcomes English, Chinese, or bilingual submissions. We value translation as an editorial practice, not a marketing layer.
4) Global circulation with cross-language sensitivity
They operate across the US, Europe, and Asia. We are bilingual by nature, and we actively support practices that travel across cultural contexts. STRATUM welcomes English, Chinese, or bilingual submissions. We value translation as an editorial practice.

Requirements

They accept submissions across art, culture, and humanities, including:
• Essays and cultural criticism (field-facing, research-driven, readable)
• Artist writing (practice statements, methodologies, process texts, scores)
• Interviews and dialogues (artists, curators, researchers, producers)
• Artist dossiers (works plus editorial framing and contextual text)
• Experimental texts (hybrid forms, annotated archives, fragments, scripts)
• Practice-led research (case studies, method notes, reflective documentation)
If your work sits between writing and practice, or moves between languages, contexts, and disciplines, STRATUM is built for it.

They are particularly interested in writing and practice-led material that:
• Proposes a method, not only an opinion
• Builds an argument with evidence, stakes, and form
• Makes complex practice readable without flattening
• Engages questions of body, image, technology, ritual, ecology, diaspora, archive
• Operates in the space where language is still catching up to practice
• Brings a distinctive voice, structure, or editorial intelligence
There is no fixed theme. They care about editorial coherence, precision, and depth.

What Selected Contributors Receive
• Publication in STRATUM Journal (digital feature)
• Editorial presentation: structure, captions, formatting, contextual framing
• Global readership via STRATUM’s distribution channels
• Print consideration for selected features (when applicable)
Non-exclusive agreement: you keep full copyright

By submitting, you confirm you hold the rights to the text and any included media.
If selected, STRATUM will publish your work under a non-exclusive editorial agreement. Copyright remains with you.

Application Instructions

Choose one primary category:
1) Essay / Criticism
1,200 to 3,000 words (up to 4,000 for long-form)

2) Artist Writing / Practice Text
600 to 2,500 words
Can include images, scores, scripts, fragments, annotations

3) Interview / Dialogue Proposal
Pitch plus sample questions or outline
If already recorded, include transcript excerpt

4) Artist Dossier (work + writing)
6 to 12 images or links to up to 3 moving image works
500 to 1,500 words contextual text (can be process-based or research-led)

Please submit your application via the official portal:
https://www.elsehereglobal.com/become-a-contributor

Submission Requirements (Please include the following in a single application):
• Submission type (1 of the 4 categories above)
• Your text (Google Doc link or PDF)
• Short abstract (80 to 150 words)
• Short bio (80 to 150 words)
• Links (website/portfolio, optional)
• If submitting a dossier: image set or work links + captions
Language: English or Chinese accepted. Bilingual welcome.