Every magazine faces the challenge of keeping its content fresh every issue. But biannual art publication Tunica, takes reinvention to a whole new level. Every issue is lead by a different art director, who curates an inspiring, thoughtful collection of art, illustration, writing and more. The themes change, the contributions change, the visuals change – but the innovative tone remains quintessentially Tunica. The magazine is fairly new, but already a favorite in the worlds of publishing, fashion, art, design, literature and beyond. Its team filled us in on how they’ve broken boundaries in the magazine world.
How did Tunica come into existing – what are your backgrounds and how did you decide to create this magazine?
The first impulse with Tunica was the need to showcase the kind of work that we liked and felt wasn't represented in other art publications. Tunica is an international group of editors and collaborators that come from all different backgrounds. We feel that this influence creates a publication that hosts interesting and meaningful work spanning across many disciplines. Simply put, Tunica is a need to edit and express the changing and exciting things happening in today’s art world in a new way. We are always growing and looking for new creative challenges in other projects, and thus want Tunica to be far more than just a paper publication. Both online and in print we want Tunica to be a creative and intellectual receptacle for modern culture, featuring but not limited to art, illustration, music, graphic design and anything that inspires us!
How do you choose the themes for each issue?
With the magazine we try not to think too much of a theme, just a few general guidelines to fit the contents. We envisioned Tunica as a platform for new ideas, so it's important for us to keep it varied and interesting. With each issue we always have ideas for new content and articles, which come through a collaborative exchange of ideas, conversations, online chats, visiting studios, artists and book fairs. We harness this pool of talent and ideas to create Tunica’s vision. But sometimes we do have a special theme, for example our Asian edition, and right now we are also working on a Mexican edition. But the content will stay broad and covering topics we feel relevant to Tunica.
How do you find and curate the content?
What is amazing about the art community today is that it's better connected than ever before. This allows us to work very well together with guest editors around the world in collaboration with the Tunica team based in New York. Behind every issue we have guest editors (like Ed. Varie, on our next issue) and collaborators, including 'Tunica’s side projects. Besides, we are going to launch our new website in March and it will be designed by Juan Astasio. The website will curate a lot more exciting, new content. It will also host regular open calls for the paper and for the online version, including a shop for the magazine and works by artists that have been published in Tunica.
What do you feel people should get out of reading Tunica?
We like to think and hope our readers discover something completely new and unpublished. During the editing process we always try and see the magazine as the reader might for the first time. We are always looking forward, never sideways.
The magazine has a global dynamic, and the first two issues read like travel journals. Where are your favorite places to travel, where do you find the most inspiration?
These are special issues about art on different countries and continents. They're really about the experience of art through photography and other disciplines during a time traveling to exotic places, with other cultures and different lifestyles. We believe that being out of your comfort zone makes creatives grow up and helps them develop themselves into something more unusual and more personal.
Who do you think is making waves in the art world, whose work do you find really exciting right now?
There are a lot of things happening at the moment, and with the internet, everybody has access to see interesting things. But we have some really special projects coming up aside of the web and the magazine. We are creating a gallery for Tunica, which we are going to open on the 15th of April in the East Village, in New York. The opening will be the release party for the next (third) issue, and the gallery will exhibit some exciting artists that we've featured in our print edition such as Ward Roberts from Australia, Claire Duport from France, The Rodina from the Czech Republic and Charlie Engman from the United States. We consider Tunica to be like a gallery on paper and this project as an extension of that idea.
Is there anyone you dream of working with, maybe guest editing an issue of Tunica?
We are really happy to have been able to work with Folch Studio, they designed our last edition and we felt like it was a great collaboration. For the next issue, the art direction will be by Studio Lln. Jordy Van Den Nieuwendijk and Pablo Abad made some artworks especially for Tunica, and we were really inspired by their work. It is always great to connect with more people and to continue working together to make issues. We'd like all different kinds of people to be part of our project and, I guess, most relevantly, the point is to just enjoy doing it!
Are there any areas you’d like to explore and introduce to the content realm of Tunica?
We are really open and always looking for content that moves us. Right now we want to introduce Tunica to everybody online through our new website, that would allow us to expand the content and be more snappy about it. There are a lot of things happening at the moment, which make it an exciting time for us! At the new gallery/studio we will have pop-up events and collaborations, as well as a little bookstore with things we like.
