In the myriad of Boston University clubs, publications and on-campus groups, there has never been a magazine solely focused on the art world — until now.
The word “squinch” refers to a dome-like structure that must be supported, and with this in mind, the founders decided that the name of their new magazine should reflect the support the art world needs from its community. With that, Squinch Magazine was born.
Squinch offers students art news and a platform to display their own art to the BU community and beyond. The founders include four sophomores — Kabita Das in the College of Fine Arts, Rachel Kubrick in the College of Arts and Sciences, Olivia Williams in CFA and CAS, and Sofija Chroneos, also in CFA.
The idea formed during one casual dinner date with a few of the founders.
“We wanted to be involved in a club relating to art,” Williams said. “A club for people interested in art and other things. The goal is to create an art community to exist outside of CFA and branch off of other topics that people want to know about besides simply art.”
After settling on their new idea — a seemingly simple one — they discovered how far the art community stretches.
“We realized we had interest outside the BU community,” Kubrick said. “No other school had an art magazine.”
The founders made the decision to keep Squinch from being affiliated with the Student Activities Office. This way, the magazine could impact more than the BU student population and include other colleges and universities in Boston and even beyond city limits.
Squinch incorporates a wide range of participation opportunities such as writing, artwork submissions, social media managing, photojournalism and their YouTube channel, according to the Squinch staff.
Writers explore ideas of interviews with curators from local museums, exhibition reviews or an opinion piece about news in the art world, as well as discussions with CFA faculty who teach students how to pursue careers in art.
“Writing about art in any way people feel is meaningful,” Das said. “There are so many ways to tackle art.”
The Squinch team has released a fall issue on Sept. 20, which included articles by the founders, as well as art submissions by BU students.
The fall issue of Squinch featured stories about the politics behind the 2017 Whitney Biennial — an event that spotlights influential contemporary artist in the United States — and a travel guide for the Musee D’Orsay, a Paris art museum. Their YouTube channel offers viewers an interview with Boston-based abstract painter, Nedret Andre.
They plan to continue releasing content seasonally and expect the winter issue to debut in December, the founders said.
Besides content for the magazine, the Squinch founders are aiming to “get people excited about [the art world] and involved,” Chroneos said.
They are reaching out to students via social media, especially through their Facebook and Instagram pages with hopes that people will become more engaged with the art world both on BU campus and within Boston, she said.
Eventually, the team said they want to model the magazine after an organization like Her Campus, an online magazine with chapters on college campuses across the country. This type of system would broaden involvement in the art world beyond Boston, they said.
“Share your art with the community,” Williams said. “We want people to engage in a community of art that BU would really benefit from.”
Olivia Ritter – Simply spectacular!!!!! I’m so proud of you – you write and report on target. And I love the concept of this new work – it’s a worthy venture.