Following David Velasco’s dramatic dismissal, Tina Rivers Ryan is named Artforum’s next editor-in-chief

The US curator and writer Tina Rivers Ryan has been appointed as the tenth editor-in-chief of Artforum. She is a long-time contributor to the prestigious contemporary art magazine, which was established in 1962 in New York, where it is still published.

Ryan replaces David Velasco, who was fired from the role in October 2023 after he republished on Artforum’s website an open letter calling for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas War. The letter was signed by hundreds of art world figures but was criticised for its initial omission of the casualties of Hamas’s 7 October attack. Artforum’s publishers said at the time that Velasco did not consult them before republishing the letter, breaking editorial protocol. In the wake of this, a number of the magazine’s full-time staff quit to protest Velasco’s dismissal by Penske Media Corporation, which has owned Artforum since 2022, and many writers pledged not to write for Penske-owned publications (which also include Artnews and Art in America).

Seemingly addressing this context, Artforum‘s publishers, Danielle McConnell and Kate Koza, said in a statement: “As Ryan’s tenure as editor begins, the leadership of Artforum would like to emphasise the magazine’s ongoing commitment to editorial independence. Hand-in-hand with this commitment are a set of established standards and protocols that center a rigorous editorial process, contextualisation, and clear authorship, ensuring that the magazine’s fundamental integrity and editorial tenets are upheld.”

In an interview with Vogue, which broke the news of her appointment, Ryan expressed hope for Artforum‘s ability to provide space for activism. “We are seeing a bit of a chilling effect in which people are feeling like there are things that cannot be said. And I think Artforum, for a long time now, has been a space for artists and writers to participate in activism and advocacy,” she said. “And given the multiple ongoing crises that we’re facing, and that are impacting many people in the arts, I think Artforum really needs to continue to be a platform for that kind of work as part of its overall project of highlighting the conversations that are really defining contemporary art.”

Ryan is currently a curator at Buffalo AKG Art Museum in western New York, where she has worked since 2017. She is considered an authority on new media art, including video and digital art. Exhibitions she has curated there include Peer to Peer, which explored decentralised digital networks. She holds a PhD in art history from Columbia University and a BA in that subject from Harvard University. In 2022, she received an Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant.

McConnell and Koza added: “Tina is a brilliant writer and uniquely positioned to uphold the magazine’s reputation for publishing the highest quality long-form criticism, while also contributing to a dynamic vision of audience expansion via continued digital growth and live events.”

The first edition of Artforum under Ryan’s leadership will be the magazine’s summer Issue; her start date has not been confirmed.