Balcony 2
Delivered to Stack subscribers in
Mar 2022
Balcony is an arts title that specialises in getting unusually close to the artists it features, peering into their lives to paint an intimate picture of their influences, ideas and anxieties.
Editor Audrey Rose Smith and creative director Vicente Muñoz both work in the art world, and the magazine grew out of their frustration with the commercial, event-driven narrative that tends to dictate which artists are covered in the mainstream press. They wanted the freedom to showcase the artists they find the most exciting, rather than the ones whose works demand the highest prices, or who secure the biggest shows, so they hit upon the idea of focusing on the artist as an individual, with the art itself taking a secondary role.
Name
Audrey Rose Smith and Vicente Muñoz
Job title
Publishers, Editor (Audrey) and Creative Director (Vicente)
What is Balcony?
Balcony is a bi-annual print magazine about the lives of artists. Each issue contains a selection of intimate dialogues, visual stories, and ephemera, elevating the quotidian over the monumental to put forward a new voice in art journalism.
What makes it different from the rest?
Balcony presents the artist’s voice as its primary source, blurring the boundaries between the art world and the everyday and sidestepping conventions of both art criticism and the artist profile.
Who makes Balcony?
We are a small team! Vicente and I edit and produce the stories and the magazine is designed by Ben Fehrman-Lee and Julia Novitch who have worked with us since the inception of the project and translated our ideas into material reality. We also have a copy editor, Gabrielle Stowe, as well as many incredible contributors for each edition.
Who reads it?
Balcony is read by artists, curators, people who work in galleries or museums. However, our aim is to create something that is inviting to anyone interested in art and artists. You do not have to be an insider to the artwork to enjoy Balcony because, in the end, it’s a magazine about people before it is about art. So our readership also includes designers, creative directors, writers, photographers and people in the creative industries.
Why do you work in magazines?
Making Balcony was something born out of a desire to present artists in a more humane light than how they are typically presented in art journalism. The art world tends to focus on the commercial narrative — artworks, exhibitions etc — and we want to present artists in a more intimate, personal way. Balcony is about passing time with an artist and what better way to present that than in print.
Aside from the print magazine, what else are you involved in?
I work for an art gallery doing sales and programming and Vicente is a designer and artist himself. Balcony is very much a night and weekend venture!
What would you change about Balcony if you could?
We wouldn’t change anything about the magazine itself. It’s been a pure joy to create and work with our artists, contributors, and collaborators.
Where do you see Balcony in five years?
When we set out to make Balcony, our sole focus was on creating a genuine, authentic and beautiful publication to showcase the best artists, writers, and curators. This will always be our guiding principle. Five years on, I hope we’re able to continue to do this and to have Balcony shared with more people around the world through meaningful collaborations with artists, creatives, and, where it makes sense, brands wishing to engage the visual arts. Bringing the art world closer to the everyday is what we set out to do and it’s exciting to imagine how this can be explored in the future.
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