Dear friends,

At a time when machine led algorithms march us in line towards a culture of capitalist realism, consumerism and faux convenience plague every single layer of our society. Now more than ever is it clear that we must celebrate the ideas and work of the writers and artists who find themselves in this moment within our community.

Let's be honest, the machine which spits out soulless images read from generated prompts will never be able to match what is made with our flesh and blood. Nor should it be able to, with the burning of our planet's resources stamped away over the want to use AI algorithms to ask questions such as “Should I add eggs to my omelet?”

As an Anarchist writer, artist, and designer working towards my masters degree in design, I've spent significant time grappling with the effects of our hyper-commodified culture on the creatives working to live within our society. In this modern society, the presence of Anarchist perspectives is often found misconstrued or absent entirely. Yet never is the absence of our thoughts more fully felt than within the academic circle, often times missing within the fields of art, education, and design.

Published essay collections such as Anarchism and Education(Judith Suissa, 2006) or Anarchist Pedagogies(Robert H. Haworth, 2012) shed light on unique models of education from anarchist perspectives, drawing a line between the realm of academic pedagogical thought and anarchism, but if you attempt to draw this line between academic writing or research on the intersection of art and anarchism, or the experience of anarchism within Appalachian communities as example, the search easily runs dry.

What I'm looking to do is collaborate in an attempt to fill in these gaps on small, unique, or niche subjects, as we work to create a network of anarchist or anarchist-adjacent thought from the many creatives within our community with willingness to contribute and a want to share their thoughts, experiences, and ideas.

What if we created a journal highlighting various essays, academic writings, poems, research, visual art, interviews, etc. on subjects relating to the anarchist perspective on art and the modern cultural experience?

Topics could range anywhere from a specific idea such as hierarchy in visual art or design, commodification within the creative community, or even indigenous Appalachian textiles all the way to a general idea such as anthropological perspective. I would act as an editor to this, contributing a foreword or introduction essay and handling the formal design of said journal.

Submissions can be sent through the contact form on my website, which is found here on this page. There are also various example writings and work I have made in the past that could provide examples of my work and thoughts behind the creation of this, but there are no formal guidelines for format or subject, as creativity without restriction is creativity in the free'st sense.

In the end, what I want to create is the very same books I wish I could have found and read when I started my own journey, and I want to highlight and celebrate the many differences and perspectives we have all come to have through our many experiences.

If you’re interested, fill the form down below. I’ll get in contact as early as possible.