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Afterall

Image of people at an exhibition
Image courtesy of UAL

Afterall is a Research centre of University of the Arts London, located at Central Saint Martins. Our research explores contemporary art from a global and decolonial perspective. We focus on the social and political contexts of art practice, as well as how art is exhibited and made public.

Afterall works with partners across 5 continents to broaden the conversation about art and challenge dominant narratives. Through our publications, website, events and podcasts, we explore where art is made and how it moves, as well as the knowledge it produces and reflects. We also work to build and support a sustainable art-writing ecosystem through our international writing workshops.

At Central Saint Martins, we are involved with postgraduate study through the MRes Art: Exhibition Studies pathway. We also support doctoral students.

Publication and projects

Afterall journal

Afterall, a journal of art, context and enquiry, launched in 1999. It offers in-depth analysis of artists’ work and practice, alongside essays that place it in a wider context.

The journal is published by Central Saint Martins in partnership with:

It is distributed by the University of Chicago Press in both print and digital format, and by Central Books and Les presses du réel in print format.

Exhibition Histories

The Exhibition Histories series addresses what happens when art becomes public. It is research-based, bringing together multiple voices and viewpoints. It uses archival and other primary materials to inform current and future practice.

The series is published in association with:

Research undertaken for the series also informs the MRes Art: Exhibition Studies course we lead at Central Saint Martins. The series is published in print and distributed by Koenig Books.

Afterall website

Afterall shares selected journal articles for free on afterall.org. The website also features artist interviews, short essays, reviews and video documentation of events.

New Writing

New Writing is an online publishing platform that grew out of Afterall's collaborative writing workshops. It centres new voices in the field of art writing and aims to deepen and diversify global narratives about art.

NoteBook

NoteBook is an online collection of writings by Central Saint Martins’ students and graduates. It often includes interviews or reviews of current exhibitions. It aims to help students develop their writing practice through editorial mentorship and public exposure.

Reading lists

Afterall invites researchers, cultural workers, artists or collectives to develop reading lists based on their local context or current research. These lists respond to urgent contemporary issues.

Afterall podcast

Afterall initiates conversations with artists, cultural workers, scholars and curators, and produces a podcast series available on Apple Podcasts and other platforms.

Past strands of publications

One Work

The One Work series is a library of small books. Each title focuses on one important work of contemporary art through a single text. Founded in partnership with The MIT Press, the series is distributed by MIT in both print and e-book format.

Two Works

The Two Works series invites contemporary artists to respond visually to ‘classic’ texts. In so doing, it offers new perspectives, re-readings or critiques. The books create conversations across art forms, generations, and places, and explore how visual art can interact meaningfully with text. The series is distributed by Koenig Books.

Critical Readers

Critical Readers look at significant areas of modern and contemporary art practice. They do so by bringing together new commissions alongside key texts, artists’ statements and manifestos. Titles have been published and distributed in collaboration with The MIT Press and Tate Publishing.

Researchers and editors

Elisa Adami | Wing Chan | Charles Esche | Adeena Mey | David Morris

Project manager

Louise Ingledow

Il Posto-Afterall Editorial Research Fellow

Rada Georgieva

This role is supported by Il Posto Documentos, Research and Documentation Center (Santiago, Chile) to foster conversations about Latin American art across Afterall publications.

Afterall is a founding member of the Common Practice advocacy group.

PhD researchers

The centre is closely linked to the MRes Art: Exhibition Studies pathway led by David Morris and Helena Vilalta.

Related links

The Afterall office is located at:

Central Saint Martins 
University of the Arts London
Granary Building
1 Granary Square
London, N1C 4AA