Artforum Selects Tina Rivers Ryan as New Top Editor

Artforum named Tina Rivers Ryan its next top editor on Thursday, selecting the curator to lead the prestigious magazine after a tumultuous year.

“For decades, the editors at Artforum have ensured that this historic magazine has remained a trusted and indispensable resource for conversations about contemporary art and its role in the broader culture,” Ryan, who specialized in digital art as a curator at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, said in a statement.

Five months ago, the magazine fired David Velasco, its editor in chief, after he signed and published a letter calling for Palestinian liberation shortly after the Israel-Hamas war began. Some staff members were upset with his termination; longtime editors resigned in protest and artists declared a boycott. Some writers pulled their essays and some advertisers pulled their spots in the publication, resulting in a noticeably slimmer issue after the events unfolded.

Penske Media Corporation, which owns the publication, has spent the past several months attempting to rebuild.

Ryan, who has contributed to Artforum over the years, gained notice for a popular essay criticizing the NFT boom. She later softened her stance and helped the Buffalo museum cash in on the craze by organizing an online exhibition and fund-raiser.

“We could not be more excited for this next chapter of Artforum with Tina at the editorial helm,” the magazine’s publishers, Danielle McConnell and Kate Koza, said in a statement. “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.”