From the EditorVol. 13 The Road
From the Editors: Southwest Contemporary Vol. 13 — The Road
Southwest Contemporary: The Road reconstitutes even the busiest Southwest arteries as byways that tether far-flung places and people.
March 20, 2026
From the Editor
From the EditorVol. 12 Obsession
From the Editor: Southwest Contemporary Vol. 12 — OBSESSION
Southwest Contemporary: OBSESSION foregrounds artistic fixations, revealing the loops, patterns, and intensities that define the Southwest’s cultural landscape.
September 08, 2025
From the EditorVol. 11 The Hyperlocal
From the Editors: Southwest Contemporary Vol. 11 — The Hyperlocal
Discover how Southwest Contemporary: The Hyperlocal explores art that connects immediate environments to global concerns—from borderland communities to regional myths and climate concerns.
March 07, 2025
From the EditorInside Southwest ContemporarySouthwest
An Opening Letter from New Southwest Contemporary Editorial Director Jordan Eddy
Our new editorial director, who joined SWC on April 22, looks back on a challenging decade of arts journalism—and ahead with an ambitious editorial vision.
May 17, 2024
From the EditorInside Southwest ContemporarySouthwest
Southwest Contemporary Announces New Leadership, Awards, and Eyes the Future
This spring, Southwest Contemporary welcomes a new editorial director and four new board members, along with award wins, open calls for our next issue, and an opportunity to win $10,000 in funding for emerging media.
May 10, 2024
From the EditorVol. 8 Medium + Support
From the Publisher: Arts Writing as Ecosystem Building
Southwest Contemporary publisher Lauren Tresp discusses the publication's role in the arts ecosystem of the Southwest—including some behind-the-scenes work building networks and sharing resources.
September 01, 2023
The Results Are In: Southwest Contemporary’s 2022 Reader Survey
Southwest Contemporary's 2022 reader survey results are in. Here is what we've learned so far. Plus, meet the feline members of our team.
June 30, 2022
From the EditorVol. 4 Winter 2021
From the Editor: Vol. 4
Southwest Contemporary Vol. 4 travels across the region to meet artists, brewers, climate-change activists, and DIY-ers to have in-depth conversations about significant and inspiring issues.
October 29, 2021
From the EditorVol. 2 Flights of Fancy
From the Editor: Vol. 2 — Flights of Fancy
Welcome to Southwest Contemporary Vol. 2, Flights of Fancy. This issue explores the complexities involved in defining—and staying tethered to—what’s “real."
April 30, 2021
From the Editor: Vol. 1 — Bodies//Boundaries
SWC Vol. 1: Bodies//Boundaries is the first publication of a new journey and an expanded mission: to bring curated, critical arts and culture publishing to the American Southwest, in print and online.
February 08, 2021
From the EditorInside Southwest ContemporaryNews
Announcing our 2021 Publication Schedule and SWC Memberships
Whether you've valued our content over the last 28 years, or the last 28 days, now is the time we need your help the most.
October 26, 2020
Announcing the Field Guide 2020
The inaugural Field Guide—a guidebook to arts and culture across northern New Mexico —drops in print and online on July 31! To receive an issue delivered to your door, you can pre-order a copy now from our online store.
July 21, 2020
From the Editor: The Future of Southwest Contemporary
After careful consideration, and much initial heartbreak, I have decided that Southwest Contemporary will publish one final print edition this year: our new Field Guide publication. We will suspend print publication of The Magazine for the remainder of 2020, with strong and sincere plans to return to print in 2021.
May 26, 2020
Support SWC + The Magazine
Southwest Contemporary will continue to serve our community by sharing information, resources, and connections, and supporting arts businesses, organizations, and artists as best we can during this time. However, we need you, our readers and community members, to help us weather this storm.
March 23, 2020
Letter: April-May 2020
For this special issue on architecture and preservation, coinciding with national Architecture Month in April and Preservation Month in May, I wanted to look at the intersections of architecture, time, and place—all of which are changing as our community does. I also wanted to lift up the voices of women in design.
March 26, 2020
Letter: February-March 2020
Welcome to the Artists Issue, featuring 12 New Mexico Artists to Know Now, a readership survey, new features, and a new calendar.
February 02, 2020
Letter: December 2019-January 2020
This issue taps into contemporary craft. It wasn’t intentionally a choice informed by the season, but it feels right to contemplate our own crafts at the end of the year—a season of endings, reflections, and new opportunities. We approached this topic from many different angles, from traditional craft to craft and tech.
December 01, 2019
Letter: October-November 2019
I love print. I love words on a physical page held in my hands. I love the texture of paper and the smell of old books. I love interesting editorial design that creates an experience greater than the sum of its parts. If you’ve ever been to Southwest Contemporary’s offices, you may have seen my collection of independent magazines from around the world, which is always growing (here’s an open invitation to come say hi and take a look!).
October 04, 2019
Letter: September 2019
This month we embrace our new name and traverse the southwest from Silver City, New Mexico, to Scottsdale, Arizona. In our features, we visit the studio of Santa Fe artist Ted Larsen, whose work we are honored to present as this issue’s cover art. Briana Olson takes us on a day tour of some of Albuquerque’s incredible murals. Rachel Preston Prinz gives us the lowdown on the art, architecture, and natural glories in and around Silver City, New Mexico. Maggie Grimason goes deep with artists Ginger Dunnill and Cannupa Hanska Luger at their Glorieta, New Mexico home, to talk about their individual and collaborative practices spanning art, life, community, and family.
August 28, 2019
Letter: August 2019
Welcome to the next chapter of The Magazine! In July, the beginning of The Magazine’s 28th year, I launched a new business: Southwest Contemporary. (If you missed this launch, sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of this page!) Southwest Contemporary is a new art media company that will serve as an umbrella over The Magazine while also carving out room for this company to evolve and grow.
July 29, 2019
Introducing Southwest Contemporary
The month of July introduces a season of sequels and new beginnings to The Magazine! On the cusp of The Magazine’s 28th year, I am excited to introduce you to […]
July 01, 2019
Letter: July 2019
I am thrilled to usher The Magazine into its 28th year with this issue: Volume 28, Issue 1. I have some very exciting announcements that will be made in just a couple of weeks about the future of The Magazine and new offerings to look forward to, so please make sure you are signed up on our email list if you are not already!
June 26, 2019
Letters: June 2019
For a monthly magazine, it can be difficult to capture a theme throughout an entire issue. So much of our content is deliberately eclectic, covers a span of disciplines, and is a mix between in-depth and topical coverage. I’m delighted, therefore, that our “Landscapes” issue came together rather organically...
May 24, 2019
Letters: May 2019
I can already tell from our overflowing calendar of events that the New Mexico arts season is soon upon us.
April 26, 2019
Letters: April 2019
Welcome to April. We have a great issue to present this month, but first, I want to introduce and welcome our newest team member, Rebecca Lynch!
March 26, 2019
Letter from the Editor: February-March 2019
In November of 2018, we put out an open call for New Mexico artists to submit their work to be featured in this issue and were astounded receive over 450 submissions from artists across the entire state.
January 30, 2019
Letters: December 2018-January 2019
When I started in June, Lauren and I made all sorts of plans, and it’s a joy to watch them develop into realities: more coverage of performance art, dance...
November 28, 2018
Letters: November 2018: Community
A month ago, I wrote about the importance of critical writing and critical thinking, one of the core tenets of the work of The Magazine. Now I’m happy to write about a second core tenet: Community.
October 30, 2018
Letters: October 2018: Criticism
Criticism is a vital part of a community that endeavors to engage and progress culturally and artistically. By criticism, I mean informed writing that expands upon and critiques, positively or negatively, the artwork, exhibitions...
October 01, 2018
25 Issues In: From the desk of Lauren Tresp
The September issue is my 25th as publisher and editor of this publication, and it feels like a fitting moment to reflect on the transformations that have taken place over the last two and a half years. Since early 2016 we have...
September 13, 2018
