STRATUM Journal

ISSN 3070-8869 · Open Access

Author Guidelines

STRATUM Journal welcomes submissions from artists, scholars, curators, critics, writers, filmmakers, choreographers, and interdisciplinary researchers working across contemporary art, performance, visual culture, moving image, curatorial practice, artistic research, and critical humanities.

The journal publishes peer-reviewed Research Articles alongside editorially reviewed Critical Essays, Reviews, Interviews & Conversations, Artist Features & Portfolios, Field Notes & Public Discourse, and Experimental Writing & Series.

STRATUM supports writing that moves between artistic practice, scholarly inquiry, and critical reflection. We welcome work that is rigorous, readable, situated, and attentive to form, method, history, image, embodiment, and cultural context.

Submit to STRATUM

Or

Email: stratumjournal@elsehereglobal.com

Suggested subject line:

STRATUM Submission – [Submission Category] – [Author Name]

Please include:

Manuscript or project text
Short author biography
Author affiliation, when applicable
ORCID, when available
Relevant images or media links
Captions and credits
Permission notes, when applicable
Preferred submission category
Any relevant disclosure about prior publication, conflicts of interest, translation, or AI-assisted tools

Before You Submit

Authors should review the following pages before submitting:

Aims & Scope
Peer Review Policy
Publication Ethics
Open Access Policy

Submissions should fit STRATUM’s intellectual and artistic scope. We are especially interested in work that engages contemporary artistic and cultural practice with clarity, depth, and contextual care.

STRATUM does not prioritize purely promotional writing, press releases, unframed portfolio submissions, event announcements, or general opinion pieces without critical development.

Submission Categories

Research Articles

Research Articles are peer-reviewed scholarly articles that make an original contribution to contemporary art, performance, visual culture, moving image, curatorial practice, critical theory, or global arts and humanities.

Recommended length: 5,000–8,000 words

Research Articles should include:

Title
Abstract of 150–250 words
5–7 keywords
Author name
Author affiliation
ORCID, when available
Main text
Notes, if applicable
References or bibliography
Image captions and permissions, when applicable
Short author biography

Research Articles should present a clear argument, engage relevant scholarship, and demonstrate methodological care. They may include visual, archival, field-based, practice-based, ethnographic, theoretical, or curatorial materials when these support the research contribution.

Research Articles are subject to peer review after initial editorial screening.

Reviews

Reviews are editorially reviewed responses to exhibitions, performances, films, screenings, books, festivals, public programs, or other cultural events.

Recommended length: 1,200–2,500 words

Reviews should move beyond description. They should offer critical attention to the work, its context, its form, and its artistic or cultural stakes.

Reviews should include relevant identifying information, such as:

Artist or author
Title of exhibition, performance, book, film, or program
Venue, publisher, festival, or organizer
Location
Dates, when applicable
Curator, director, editor, or other relevant credits

Artist Features & Portfolios

Artist Features & Portfolios are editorially framed presentations of artistic practice, research process, documentation, visual work, performance work, moving image, installation, or project-based inquiry.

Recommended length: 1,000–3,000 words
Recommended images: 6–15 images, depending on the project

Submissions may include:

Artist statement or project statement
Critical or curatorial introduction
Portfolio images
Captions and credits
Documentation notes
Links to video, audio, or time-based work
Artist biography
Image and media permissions

This section is designed for artistic practices that require visual presence, contextual framing, and critical introduction. Submissions should not function only as promotional portfolios. They should provide enough context for readers to understand the practice, project, method, or research process.

Field Notes & Public Discourse

Field Notes & Public Discourse are shorter editorially reviewed reflections on contemporary art, culture, institutions, public life, emerging cultural conditions, public programs, or field-level observations.

Recommended length: 1,000–2,500 words

This section supports writing that is timely, situated, and critically attentive without becoming news coverage or event promotion.

Field Notes may respond to public programs, artistic encounters, institutional shifts, cultural debates, local contexts, or emerging conditions in the field.

Critical Essays

Critical Essays are editorially reviewed essays that develop a critical argument, interpretive framework, or cultural analysis.

Recommended length: 2,500–5,000 words

Critical Essays may address contemporary art, performance, dance, visual culture, moving image, exhibitions, media culture, public discourse, artistic research, cultural memory, institutions, or critical theory.

Critical Essays may be more flexible in form than Research Articles, but they should still demonstrate specificity, clarity, and critical depth. References are encouraged when relevant.

Interviews & Conversations

Edited conversations with artists, curators, scholars, filmmakers, writers, choreographers, researchers, cultural workers, and interdisciplinary practitioners.

This section documents process, method, artistic formation, research, and the conditions surrounding contemporary practice.

Interviews & Conversations

Interviews & Conversations are edited exchanges with artists, curators, scholars, filmmakers, writers, choreographers, researchers, cultural workers, and interdisciplinary practitioners.

Recommended length: 2,000–6,000 words

Interview submissions may include:

Proposed interview title
Participant names and affiliations
Short introduction
Edited conversation transcript
Images or documentation, when relevant
Participant bios
Confirmation that participants have consented to publication

STRATUM may edit interviews for clarity, length, structure, and readability. Substantial edits should preserve the meaning, voice, and integrity of the conversation.

Experimental Writing & Series

Experimental Writing & Series includes serialized writing, letters, fragments, hybrid forms, creative-critical texts, and other editorial formats when they align with STRATUM’s intellectual and artistic scope.

Recommended length: flexible, depending on form

Submissions in this section should still have intentional structure, editorial clarity, and a meaningful relationship to the journal’s scope. Experimental form should deepen the work rather than replace critical or artistic precision.

Formatting Requirements

Please submit manuscripts as Word documents or Google Docs links with editing access enabled.

Research Articles and Critical Essays should be double-spaced or clearly formatted for review. Please use a readable font and avoid unnecessary layout design in the manuscript file.

All submissions should include:

Title
Author name
Email address
Short biography of 100–150 words
Author affiliation, when applicable
ORCID, when available
Submission category
Word count
Any relevant image, media, or permission notes

For Research Articles, please also include an abstract, keywords, references, and any relevant acknowledgments or funding disclosures.

Citation Style

STRATUM accepts Chicago-style citation formats. Authors may use either Chicago Notes and Bibliography or Chicago Author-Date, depending on the nature of the submission and disciplinary context.

Research Articles should use a consistent citation system and include a full bibliography or reference list.

Critical Essays and Reviews should cite sources when engaging scholarship, archives, exhibitions, films, interviews, online materials, or other referenced works.

All quotations, paraphrases, translated passages, archival sources, images, and media references should be properly acknowledged.

Images, Media, and Captions

STRATUM publishes work involving visual art, performance, moving image, installation, documentation, archives, and media materials. Authors are responsible for securing the necessary permissions for any images or media included in their submissions.

Images should be submitted as high-quality files or accessible links. Captions should be complete and accurate.

Suggested caption format:

Artist Name, Title of Work, year. Medium or format. Dimensions or duration, when relevant. Venue or context, when relevant. Photo by photographer name, when relevant. Courtesy of artist, gallery, archive, or rights holder.

Authors should not submit images, film stills, screenshots, installation views, performance documentation, archival materials, or other media unless they hold the rights or have obtained permission for journal publication.

Language and Translation

STRATUM publishes primarily in English, with selected bilingual or translated works when editorially appropriate.

Authors working across languages should provide translations where needed and indicate when translated material appears in the submission. If a translation is original to the author, this should be noted. If a translation is by another person, the translator should be credited.

STRATUM welcomes writing that engages cross-cultural and multilingual contexts, but submissions should provide enough framing for readers who may not share the same linguistic, cultural, or disciplinary background.

AI-Assisted Tools

Authors should disclose substantial use of AI-assisted tools when such tools have contributed meaningfully to drafting, editing, translation, image generation, transcription, summarization, data processing, or other parts of the submission.

AI-assisted tools should not be listed as authors.

Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, citations, permissions, and ethical integrity of any material produced with the assistance of AI tools.

Review Process

All submissions are first reviewed by the editorial team for fit, clarity, relevance, and readiness.

Research Articles may be sent for peer review after initial editorial screening.

Critical Essays, Reviews, Interviews & Conversations, Artist Features & Portfolios, Field Notes & Public Discourse, and Experimental Writing & Series are reviewed editorially.

Possible decisions may include:

Accept
Accept with minor revisions
Revise and resubmit
Decline with invitation to submit a substantially revised version
Decline

A request for revision does not guarantee publication. The final publication decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with the relevant editors.

Publication Ethics

Authors are expected to submit original work and to acknowledge all sources, collaborators, images, archives, permissions, funding, and prior publication contexts.

Submissions should not include plagiarism, unauthorized image use, fabricated references, undisclosed duplicate publication, or misrepresentation of authorship or contribution.

Authors should disclose any conflicts of interest that may affect the submission or its evaluation.

For more information, please see STRATUM’s Publication Ethics page.

How to Submit

Submit to STRATUM

Or

Email: stratumjournal@elsehereglobal.com

Suggested subject line:

STRATUM Submission – [Submission Category] – [Author Name]

Please include:

Manuscript or project text
Short author biography
Author affiliation, when applicable
ORCID, when available
Relevant images or media links
Captions and credits
Permission notes, when applicable
Preferred submission category
Any relevant disclosure about prior publication, conflicts of interest, translation, or AI-assisted tools