24 Publications that Pay for Writing About Visual Art

Here’s our latest research — a list of publications that accept submissions about visual art and that work with freelance writers.

We’ve researched payment rates, pitch guidelines, and more, to help you connect with the right editor.

If you want to browse even more opportunities, be sure to check out our database of over 1,500 publishers that pay writers. It’s easily searchable, and includes thousands of listings just like the ones below.

If you’re new to freelancing, I also very much encourage you to take our course on pitching. You can get the details here.

1. Visual Arts News is the only magazine that is dedicated to contemporary visual art in Atlantic Canada. Their main focus is on Nova Scotian art and artists but they also accept stories on Atlantic Canadian, national as well as international art events. The most popular stories that they accept are features (1,000 to 3,000 words), exhibition reviews (500 to 750 words) and artist profiles (500 to 1,500 words). According to their pitch guide, they pay $275 per article. To find out more, refer to this page.

1. Hyperallergic is an art blog, covering visual artists from around the world. They look for “fresh perspectives from freelance contributors, especially those who come from historically marginalized communities.” They publish art reviews, reported stories, interviews, photo essays, opinion pieces, and more. According to their pitch guide, their standard base rates are $250 for short reviews, essays, and articles (400-600 words) and $500 for longer reviews, features, essays, and reported stories (800+ words).

1. Dilettante Army is an online journal dedicated to art writing, visual culture, and feminism. It is published quarterly, and each issue has a theme. Preferred topics center around issues of social justice, politics, and art. While they do publish pieces that are situated in lived experience, they do not publish personal essays. Word length for others vary but for essays the average length is 4000 words. According to their guidelines, they pay a flat fee of $500 per article. When we last updated this listing, they were on a brief pause. Check their website for updates. To learn more, refer to this page.

1. Communication Arts is the premier source of inspiration for graphic designers, art directors, design firms, corporate design departments, advertising agencies, interactive designers, illustrators and photographers. They are seeking creative industry thought leaders who can contribute well-written opinion columns or reported pieces that cover emerging trends, ethical issues and what it takes to thrive in the visual communication field. They pay a ”highly competitive” rate or flat fee, which is negotiated upon assignment. To learn more, refer to this page.

1. Cornelia Magazine is “a visual arts review magazine for Western New York, USA and Southern Ontario, Canada.” As per their website, they look for “feature-length articles (1500-2000 words) on visual arts-related topics” that have some connection to their region, current exhibitions, or current events that impact visual arts in their region. ​​According to their pitch guide, they pay $450 per article. To learn more, refer to this page.

1. C Magazine is a quarterly published contemporary art and criticism periodical based in Toronto, Canada. Each issue of the magazine has a theme. They welcome “writing on contemporary art and culture that is lively and rigorously engaged with current ideas and debates.” They accept pitches for reviews (800 to 1,000 words), columns (800 to 1,000 words), and feature essays, cultural analysis, and interviews (1,200 to 3,500 words). According to their contributors guidelines, they pay between 35 to 45 cents per word. They pay a flat rate of $430 for print reviews and $210 for online reviews.

1. Briarpatch is a Canadian magazine that covers “current events, grassroots activism, electoral politics, economic justice, ecology, labour, food security, gender equity, indigenous struggles, international solidarity, and other issues of political importance.” They welcome pitches from freelancers. According to their pitch guide, they pay $150 for profiles, short essays, reviews and reading lists, online-only articles, and parting shots (less than 1,500 words), $250 for feature stories (1,500 to 2,000 words) and photo essays, and $350 for research-based articles and investigative reportage (2,000-2,500 words). Reading lists can consist of visual art.

1. Established in 2009, Paper Visual Art (PVA) has been publishing journals, books, and online texts that focus on visual art, contemporary culture, and literature. Thet consider a variety of texts for publication, such as reviews, personal essays, and other forms of writing. According to their pitch guide, writers who contribute to their hardcopy journals will be paid a minimum fee of €225 per text. Review writers and interviewees will be paid a minimum fee of €175 (for both hardcopy and online). To learn more, refer to this page.