Issue Two: "Art Against Global Apartheid," Now Available For Pre-Order!

Red Wedge's second print issue, "Art Against Global Apartheid," is now available for pre-order! Our editors are communicating with contributors, putting the finishing touches on articles, poems and stories, and getting designs made up as we write this. Issue Two will be sent to the printers in late April; subscribers and those who pre-order can anticipate them in their mailboxes by mid-to-late May. Copies of Issue Two will cost $12, and be roughly one hundred, full color, fully illustrated pages of essays, commentary, poetry, art, comics, and fiction. They will also be included in any subscription purchased between now and the end of 2016 or "while supplies last."

"Apartheid" in today's world does not describe a particular legal circumstance in this or that corner of the globe. It is, in one way or another, a fact of daily life under neoliberalism. From Gaza to Ferguson, from the favelas of Brazil to the banlieues of France, global capital communicates to us in any political, economic or aesthetic language it can muster: "This world is not yours, and you do not belong here."

We of course disagree with this sentiment. As do the artists, poets and writers whose work appears in Issue Two. Art, literature, music and creativity, in a very basic sense, are a bending of time and space, a defiance of the ways racism, capitalism and imperialism have shaped our world. They dare us to imagine over the walls. 

Pieces appearing in "Art Against Global Apartheid" include:

• A roundtable discussion with author and activist Walidah Imarisha, radical scholar Robin DG Kelley, and Jonathan Horstmann of "futurepunk" group BLXPLTN on the Radical Black Imagination
• A series of essays on art and cultural exchange under neoliberalism from Bill Crane, Stella Becerril and Alexander Billet
• Poetry from Demetrius Noble, Prerna Bakshi, and Anthony Squiers
• Najjar Al-Musawwir and Angela Reinoehl on racial and gender imbalances of the 1913 Armory Show
• The winning short story from our inaugural Ousmane Sembene Political Fiction Prize contest
• James Tracy on the meeting of minds that was Public Enemy and Anthrax's "Bring the Noise"
• Our first ever printed version of "Red Wedge Comix"
• An imagery series from the recently founded November Network of Anti-Capitalist Artists

While our imaginations are infinite, resources are finite. The sooner you order your copy, the larger the order we will be able to send to the printers. Order yours today. Or purchase a subscription (regular, solidarity, or for your institution) today.

Red Wedge at Historical Materialism

Call it an "unofficial Red Wedge session" at Historical Materialism London. Editors Nikeeta Slade, Stella Becerril and Alex Billet, along with "Pink Palimpsest" blogger and writer Bill Crane, will be presenting the panel "'Who Stole the Soul?' Understanding Cultural Exchange Under Neoliberalism."

The panel is intended as an attempt to flesh out a thorough Marxist understanding of how culture travels in the neoliberal/"post-postmodern" age. Terms like "cultural appropriation" are common among the left today, but there are countless ways that the exchange of artistic modes can be interpreted. How does culture operate and change under capitalism? Are all instances of white people performing non-white art by their very nature racist? Is there room for a genuine cosmopolitan solidarity? These are some of the questions we are hoping to answer. The panel abstract is below.

Historical Materialism London will also feature presentations from other writers who have contributed to Red Wedge, including contributing editor Ashley Bohrer, Neil Davidson, Maya Weeks and Jordy Cummings. The program for the conference can be viewed here. 

* * *

Contemporary capitalism has produced stark and contradictory forms of development that by extension produce equally contradictory ways of understanding culture and the phenomenon of cultural exchange. The exchange of commodities, ideas and forms of artistic expression has always been a feature of capitalist development. Neoliberalism, however, has accelerated and accentuated these phenomena; therefore the left must reconsider the way we engage with questions of culture and cultural exchange.

The term “cultural appropriation” is one such attempt at engaging with cultural exchange, and one which has moved into common parlance among the radical left over the past decade. However, much of the theory that has emerged to explain cultural exchange, although rooted in an anti-racist instinct, is a product of post-colonial theory.

Some of the questions this panel will take up will be:

• If the existing theory around cultural appropriation is part of a larger post-colonial framework, one whose aim is not collective emancipation, then what is its motivation?

• Without a basic understanding of how and why things are commodified under capitalism, theory around cultural appropriation ends up reproducing capitalist ideas of ownership. How does that influence and shape cultural production and exchange?

• In what way has migration under neoliberalism impacted the cosmopolitan experience? How does it account for different experiences of the same cosmopolitanism?

• How has a multi-racial/multi-cultural experience impacted attempts at radical, revolutionary and anti-racist cultural production? Is there such a thing as cultural exchange that fosters solidarity across racial lines while also acknowledging the unique historical experience of component cultures?

These and other question are ones we will engage in an attempt to work towards a dialectical materialist understanding of cultural production and cultural exchange, one that can encourage political solidarity and reflect an aesthetic practice of collective liberation.

Panelists and papers included in this panel are:

1. Crystal Stella Becerril, “Beyond Postcolonial: A Marxist Understanding of Skewed Power Relations in Cultural Production and Exchange”
2. Nikeeta Slade, “Beyond Appropriation: Towards a Radical Cosmopolitanism”
3. Bill Crane, “Reflections on Migration, Cosmopolitanism and the Formation of Culture”
4. Alexander Billet, “Race, Class and Musical Expression in Uneven (Under)Development”

Inaugural Ousmane Sembène Political Short Fiction Prize

Red Wedge magazine, a publication of revolutionary arts and culture, seeks submissions for its inaugural short fiction contest, named for the great Senegalese fiction writer, communist, and trade unionist, Ousmane Sembène. God’s Bits of Wood, Ousmane Sembène’s masterpiece, fictionalized the great Dakar railway strike that spelled the beginning of the end for French colonialism in West Africa, and was published in 1960, at the height of third-world anti-colonial struggles. Sembène was a freedom fighter who used stories as his weapon. This contest seeks to help re-establish a tradition of revolutionary-left literature which consciously sees itself as part of the global upheaval that has punctuated our lives, especially since the crisis of global capitalism in 2008.

The judge for this year’s contest will be Trish Kahle. Kahle is a recipient of the Rondthaler Fiction Prize, the Niven Prize from the Center for Women Writers, runner-up for the Black Warrior Fiction Prize, and a contributing editor for Red Wedge.

Submissions will be open from August 5th, 2015 through December 31, 2015. Winners will be announced in late January. A $15 entry fee will be collected at the time of submission. Submissions received by snail mail must be accompanied by a check or money order (no cash).

The winning story will be published in the Winter/Spring 2016 print issue of the magazine and the author will receive two print copies of the issue, a $100 honorarium, and nomination for the Pushcart Prize.

All stories will be considered for publication even if they are not the contest winner, and all entries will receive a digital copy of the issue containing the winning story.

Guidelines

• Entries must be under 7,000 words in length.
• An author may submit multiple stories, but a separate entry fee must accompany each one.
• No simultaneous submissions.
• Work must be not have been previously published.
• The bulk of the story must be in English, although inclusion of other languages is acceptable as long as meaning can be inferred from context.
• Electronic submissions preferred, but snail mail submissions also accepted. 

Instructions for submissions:

• Your name should not appear anywhere on the body of your submission (in the story).
• All submissions should be sent in Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, double spaced.
• Electronic submissions should be sent via the online submission form. Snail Mail submissions may sent to Red Wedge magazine, ATTN: Contest, PO Box 47872, Chicago, IL 606047

What is political fiction?

Political fiction is not polemic, nor does it merely imply the telling of intrigues and great men (who are somehow always men). In seeking political fiction for this contest, we are seeking a commitment to the craft of fiction, to the honest expression of our worlds, our imaginations, our futures, our pasts, ourselves. And we seek fiction that does not evade the deep-ridden contradictions of capitalism, of oppression and exploitation, but which, in the tradition of Ousmane Sembène, points us to them and says, “strike the hammer here.”

We seek fiction in the spirit of Nina Simone’s definition of an artist:

An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times. I think that is true of painters, sculptors, poets, musicians. As far as I’m concerned, it’s their choice, but I choose to reflect the times and situations in which I find myself. That, to me, is my duty. And at this crucial time in our lives, when everything is so desperate, when everyday is a matter of survival, I don’t think you can help but be involved...We will shape and mold this country or it will not be molded and shaped at all anymore. So I don’t think you have a choice. How can you be an artist and not reflect the times? That to me is the definition of an artist.

Red Wedge: Fund Drive 2015

How can our dreams fit in a world that wants us scattered to the wind? Without using so many words, this is the question asked time and again by working people over the past several years. Ours is a world of perpetual war, ecological catastrophe and economic degradation, where our lives are work and work is only an amplifier of the chaos that surrounds us. In times like these, we are told that not only is it futile to imagine an alternative, but our imaginations themselves are superfluous. In times like these, to rekindle this imaginative power -- to conceive of new modes of expression, of art, music, literature, performance -- is a small but revolutionary act.

Red Wedge has, over the past three years, sought to play a role in reigniting this spark. We were and remain inspired by the creativity that manifested in Occupy, the poetry and music that rose from the Arab revolts and the movements of the squares in Europe, the artistic experiments of a new global generation of radicals. We have aimed to take this torch and run, even sprint with it. This has meant applying a passionate and at times unflinching critique of popular art and culture, acknowledging the moments when it has been “popular” the best sense, and posing a radical, humanistic alternative when it hasn’t.

We have published hundreds of articles that seek to explore the intersections of art and politics through an unabashedly socialist lens. We have sought out radical artists, writers, filmmakers, poets, musicians and cultural workers so that we might draw attention to their work. We have revisited the history -- much of it criminally overlooked in textbooks -- of past radical and avant-garde movements so that we might learn their same lessons. We have launched a website, published a pamphlet, and published our first full print edition.

Now it’s time for the next steps. And for that, we turn to you, the reader. Simply put, we need your money. Be the sum large or small, whatever you can spare.

We have always intended to be a publication that is highly accessible and professional at the same time. We want to publish our next issue and greatly expand our profile, to spread our reach and base of support so that we might better impact the debate around art and aesthetics in the newly forming radical left. We would like to pay our writers (and ourselves!) at least a modest sum so that we might show our appreciation for their work and talent. This, on top of the already significant amount of resources that it takes to keep Red Wedge running in its current state.

Naturally, we acknowledge that nobody’s spare change is easily parted with. But we also believe, sincerely, that Red Wedge is your publication, a publication of, by and for the radical left to suss out ideas around art and make a new creative voice for itself. And to show our gratitude, are providing rewards to those who donate to the project.

We believe, more urgently than ever, that we can and must win a radically different world. But that takes support; it takes guts and camaraderie. It also takes the willingness to take a leap and imagine that such a world is possible. We are eternally grateful to anyone who might help us in this endeavor.

Find out more (including about the rewards) at gofundme.com/fundredwedge

A Call For Submissions: Red Wedge Issue Two

The response to Issue One has been very positive. Despite some repeated shipping delays that we're still working on (apologies to those who are still waiting on theirs; you'll be getting them soon) we at Red Wedge can overall claim "Art + Revolution" a rather clear success. This reveals, as we have said many times over and will likely keep insisting, that there is a strong thirst for radical ideas around art, music, literature and performance. We are proud to make a small but essential contribution toward filling that gap.

And so, what better way to push forward in this endeavor than to... well, push forward. This September, we are scheduled to send the second issue of Red Wedge off to the printers, and are now open for submissions. The theme of the issue will be the art of interracial solidarity (we will likely come up with a snappier title between now and publication). With everything that has transpired over the past year, with rebellions and solidarity reaching from Missouri to the West Bank to Ayotzinapa, this seems a relevant theme for us to go with, and we believe that we will find a wealth of interest from readers and potential contributors alike.

As with Issue One, we are looking for the spectrum of submissions: essays and commentary, reviews, poetry, creative prose and imagery. As with all our content, we strongly encourage submissions from women, queer folks and people of color (which seems particularly prescient given this the subject of this issue). Queries, pitches and submissions should be sent to info@redwedgemagazine.com. 

Red Wedge at the Left Forum

Each year, the Left Forum brings thousands of activists from all over the world to New York City to present and discuss hundreds of panels and workshops on countless topics concerning the left. Naturally, this includes the areas of art and culture. This year, Red Wedge is excited to present a panel featuring editors Alexander Billet, Nikeeta Slade and Adam Turl on "Neoliberalism and the Importance of the Radical Imagination."

The exact time and location of the panel is still being worked out by the Left Forum organizers. But further details about it can be read here.  The Left Forum is to be held from May 29th to 31st at John Jay College in NYC. Tickets can be purchased here.

Off To the Printers

We sent something very long-awaited indeed off to the printers today. We'll give you some visual hints as to what it is... 

Should be here in a couple weeks; order and subscriptions will be sent out soon afterward. Be sure to order yours if you haven't already!

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Hope Is Precious...

...it must be rationed. This is what the folks behind the soon-to-be realized UK-based publication Salvage are insisting. It's a slogan that captures the desperation of our current moment pretty well while also refusing to concede that which we can't. One is reminded of Ernst Fischer's aphorism on relevant art: "In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay. And unless it wants to break faith with its social function, art must show the world as changeable. And help to change it." Optimism of the will, pessimism of the intellect, so on and so forth.

This is why Salvage has to be supported in its zygotic stage (in other words, we want you to donate to the project!) so that it might become what it wants and needs to be. Far too much of the left press is dominated by convenient answers and aesthetic as afterthought. It seems the team who have conceptualized this publication have no intention of falling into those traps. Which isn't particularly surprising given who comprises that team: Richard Seymour, China Mieville, Magpie Corvid, Evan Calder Williams, Benjamin Kunkel and a good many other original thinkers are involved in one way or another with the project. Trish Kahle, whose work has appeared in Red Wedge, has also got an article about her experiences in Ferguson appearing in the first issue. How could we not want something like this to succeed?

If the promo video is to be taken as any indication then the basic aesthetic viewpoint of the magazine is going to be a very interesting one indeed. It's quite reminiscent of the film Deep State that Mieville did a couple years back with the Mirza & Butler filmmaking team (not surprising, considering that Karen Mirza and Season Butler are also involved in Salvage). Again, this kind of feel -- that of attempting to reconstruct something coherent and dynamic from the worn fragments of postmodernism -- is quite prescient for our time and place. It will be interesting to see where this publication goes, but of course we will only get a chance to see if they get the funding they need. You should support them in any way you can dear readers.

The New Red Wedge

It’s taken several months and a lot of hard work, but the new and improved Red Wedge is up and running. There is still much to do (we’ve had a couple people ask whether we are planning to move the archives from the old site: the quick answer is yes and we’re working on it as we speak), but we’re quite proud of what we’ve gotten up already. A few new changes we want to bring our readers’ attention to:

--First up, the Red Wedge shop! This, of course, is where you’ll be able to buy our first full print issue (on the way to the printers in a matter of days now), or subscribe. There will be more products coming of course — not just future print issues of Red Wedge, but pamphlets, posters, and all kinds of neat consumer goods to fill the empty void in your soul left by alienation and exploitation. (That was a joke… sort of…)

--We also have upgraded our events page, which we intend to not just use for various events connected to RW (fundraisers and the like) but general events that the radical arts communities should know about. This means that we want to hear from you about upcoming events in your area. Book launches for activist poets or novelists? Yes. DIY shows aiming to raise funds for anti-police brutality or domestic violence groups? Those too. Gallery showings designed to bring attention to the struggle of Palestinians? Absolutely. Plays or film showings about migrant rights, community control or the history of anti-fascism? Yes, yes, and yes again.

Our aim behind this new events page is to contribute to the building of networks of radical artists around North America and, eventually, the world. We are under no illusions about how massive an undertaking this will be. Nor do we think we are the only ones with such an idea. That, in some ways, is the point: in every city, in countless communities and campuses, there are pockets of creative workers looking for ways to use their art in order to advance radical or progressive causes. That these pockets exist is not up for debate; what is needed is for them to break out of their isolation and to start talking to each other. We believe that Red Wedge has the potential to be a key resource in making this happen. So if you have an event you want us to bring to the attention of our readership, a press release you’d like us to signal boost, then let us know! We'll announce it here at "Feuilleton" and add it to the events page.

--Note the new blogs section, hosted not on Tumblr as they were previously, but right here at redwedgemagazine.com. We have an expanded roster of bloggers (and may be adding more in the near future) who will be posting here at RW. It’s our hope that the blogs will be a way to keep the conversation going and keep our readership posted in between online issues.

Previous blogs are still here: of course our editors’ blog “Feuilleton” persists and will shift more to focusing on announcements and news pertaining directly to Red Wedge. Blogs previously maintained by editors — Nikeeta Slade’s “AfroBlazingGuns,” Brit Schulte’s “The Hour Glass,” Alexander Billet’s “Atonal Notes” and Adam Turl’s “Evicted Art Blog” are still right here. Bill Crane’s “As I Please” still has a home at RW, but under a new name: “Pink Palimpsest.”

Newly added editor Craig Ross will be curating our “Red Wedge Comix” blog (which is now accepting submissions), and Hope Asya — also a new addition to our editorial board — will be maintaining the “Red Planet” blog along with RW writer Thomas Crane. Two more writers whose work has appeared in Red Wedge — Jase Short and Paul Mullan — will also be running new blogs for us. Paul’s blog “Conditions” will focus on the various mediations of visual art, while Jase’s “The Ansible” will be geared toward politics and philosophy through the prism of contemporary science-fiction.

Some of these bloggers are already posting; others are still planning their first post. But either way, we anticipate that the RW blogs will be a welcome supplement to our conversations around radical culture.