Track Changes: A Handbook for Art Criticism

Critics who “have an agenda” are admonished for putting social, ideological, or political concerns ahead of honest judgments. But are judgments ever neutral? How can agendas productively heighten the stakes and impact of criticism? In Track changes: a handbook for art criticism, twenty-five art writers and editors share strategies for critical writing and editing that show how articulating goals and values can lead to more thoughtful publishing practices and actively challenge structural inequalities within the art world. Collecting case studies, conversations, manifestos, and reflections on the technical and ethical choices that writers and editors face, Track changes is a rigorous, practical, and supportive guide to art criticism―a mentor in book form. The chapters follow the stages of the editorial process, at each step examining the field’s assumptions, foregrounding strategies for solidarity and reparative decision-making, and envisioning an intersectional feminist approach. With contributions by: Kemi Adeyemi, Andy Campbell, Erica Cardwell, Re’al Christian, Aruna D’Souza, Leslie Dick, Amy Fung, Merray Gerges, Annie Godfrey Larmon, Ariel Goldberg, Yves Jeffcoat, Dana Kopel, Yaniya Lee, Dessane Lopez Cassell, Jessica Lynne, Tausif Noor, Ashley Stull Meyers, Lindsay Preston Zappas, Kristina Kay Robinson, Jillian Steinhauer, Ana Tuazon, Monica Uszerowicz, Wendy Vogel, Emily Watlington, Elisa Wouk Almino.