Surface Design Journal Themes for 2025

SPRING: Felting: Wet & Dry

• Proposals Due: closed
• In Print: early May

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SUMMER: Modern Weavers/New Spirit
This issue is a celebration of contemporary weavers who embrace innovation. Whether working off the loom or integrating digital technologies, incorporating traditional visual language or adopting something new, contemporary weavers mark a place in history, just as their forebears did in the Wall Hangings exhibition at MoMa in 1969: twenty-eight individuals from eight countries situated themselves outside of industry and within the modern art world. Wall Hangings signaled a new direction in our field just as this issue is an opportunity to re-evaluate the discourse surrounding weaving in contemporary society.

• Proposals Due: Extended to March 24!
• In Print: mid July

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FALL: 10th Annual International Exhibition in Print: Emulate, Recreate, Translate
With Guest Juror Nirmal Raja & Co-juried by Managing Editor Lauren Sinner

“It is the task of the translator to release in his own language that pure language that is
under the spell of another, to liberate the language imprisoned in a work in his re-creation
of that work.” –Walter Benjamin

In recent years, fiber’s boundaries have been pushed to their limits like never before. The tenth annual International Exhibition in Print celebrates fiber’s potential to emulate, recreate, and translate other qualities and contexts. Some themes that expand translation as a material practice:

• Work that explores translation of language, metaphor, or concept in the medium of fiber.
• Work that emulates qualities of other materials.
• Work that illustrates fundamental aspects of fiber with thought-provoking reflections on other matter and material.
• Work that bridges cultural gaps, encouraging people from diverse backgrounds to appreciate and engage with each other.

The resulting Exhibition in Print will focus on translations and the “release” of limited understandings of what fiber can become. We are looking for poetic creations that embody fiber’s power to communicate through and beyond its materiality.

• Cafe call
• Deadline: May 16
• In Print: mid October

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WINTER: Traditions and Persistence
Led by Guest Editor, Giannina Coppiano Dwin, this special edition of Surface Design Journal invites Latinx writers to highlight artists and communities from the Americas as they explore the complexity of indigeneity, migration and persistence in the face of environmental change.

• Proposals Due: September 2
• In Print: late December

*Please note dates are subject to change*

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Proposal Requirements

• • • Abstract: 500 words max,  Word document
      • Label your file: “FirstNameLastName_Title.doc”
    • Images: 4-6 representative images, jpg, tiff, or png format
      • Label your images: “FirstNameLastName_Number.jpg”
    • SUBMISSION FORM

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Full Articles: (what to expect if your proposal gets accepted!)

• • • Full article: Word count varies depending on department (see below examples for word count)
    • Images: All images must be High Resolution, 300 dpi, jpg, tiff, or png, minimum 6 inches on the shortest side, shared via Google Form (we will send the form to you once your article is accepted)
    • Caption sheet: Name, Title, Year, materials, techniques, dimensions, photo credit (all are required for every image).
    • Example: Nádia Taquary, O Mundo/Ifá,  2019. Old iron ball, shell, cowrie shells, coastal marsh grass, wooden beads, 29 x 31.5 x 31.5 inches. Photo: Andrew Kemp.

• • • Bio: 50 words max
    • Any relevant links (artist website, Instagram handles, Vimeo/YouTube videos)

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Guidelines

• • • Submissions received after deadline will not be accepted.
    • All articles will be reviewed for consideration but not guaranteed for publication.
    • Please allow up to 2 weeks for a response. Our staff is working very hard on multiple deadlines and projects, and will require sufficient time for review.
    • All submissions must be original, and exclusive to Surface Design Journal. We will not consider articles that have already been published, in any form, in print or online.

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Journal Departments & Examples

Unsure of what department your article idea fits into? Here’s a breakdown of the Surface Design Journal departments, including final word counts and some examples from past Journals.

FEATURES

• • • In-depth article on an artist or project, and scholarly or technical concepts within the field of fiber
    • 1,200–1,500 words, 15-20 images

IN REVIEW

• • • Exhibition or conference review focusing on execution of themes, techniques, and/or installation
    • 600 words max, 10-15 images

IN CONVERSATION

• • • Interview or conversation from one artist/critic to another about a specific project
    • 600 words max, 10-15 images

SPOTLIGHT ON EDUCATION

• • • An article highlighting an innovative or interesting project done by a college institution, studio school, or other educational facility
    • 600 words max, 10-15 images

IN THE STUDIO

• • • A first person account of an artist’s studio practice, highlighting techniques, materials, and concepts utilized by the artist
    • 600 words max, 6-10 images (finished work, in-progress work, studio, action shots)

FIRST PERSON / EMERGING VOICES

• • • A first person account of an established or emerging artist’s concepts, inspirations, and background
    • 600 words max, 10-15 images (finished work, action shots, studio)

MADE AWARE

• • • Article that focuses on various forms of textile and fiber art including (performances, workshops, collaborations, etc.) as demonstrations of social practice and sociopolitical activism
    • 1,200 words max with 10-15 images

INFORMED SOURCE

• • • A first person account of any fiber/textile-based artist, curator, or collector who has a certain expertise or focus in their creative practice and makes compelling work.
    • 600 words max, 10-15 images (finished work, in-progress, studio, facilities)

IN PRINT

• • • Review of a textile-themed book
    • 500 words max, 6-10 images (cover of book, images from book)

Other departments include: Visual Essay, Artist-In-Residence, On Display, Legacy, Fiber in Film, By Design, Collaboration, Restoration, and more. While we don’t always feature every department in a Journal issue, we welcome proposals from any category

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Contact

– Elizabeth Kozlowski, Journal Editor and Lauren Sinner, Managing Editor