Artforum has a new top editor. Today it was announced that Tina Rivers Ryan, an art historian, curator, and critic, will take on the role of editor in chief of the storied art publication.
Ryan, 40, is a longtime contributor to Artforum and other art publications. Since 2017 she has been a curator at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, where she has focused on video and digital art. Before that, she worked in the department of modern and contemporary art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a scholar of art history—Ryan holds a PhD in art history and archeology from Columbia University and BA in the history of art and architecture from Harvard University—she has long been interested in the intersection of art, technology, and societal change.
Her appointment follows several months of turmoil at Artforum. David Velasco, the magazine’s previous editor in chief, was fired last October after an open letter in response to the Israel-Hamas war, signed by thousands in the art world, was published on Artforum’s website. (The magazine’s publishers contended that the letter was “not consistent with Artforum’s editorial process,” while Velasco told The New York Times that he was “disappointed that a magazine that has always stood for freedom of speech and the voices of artists has bent to outside pressure.”) Numerous staff members left and contributors pulled pieces after Velasco’s firing.
In the wake of all this, Ryan says she plans to continue the magazine’s longstanding tradition of publishing content that provokes deep thinking. “The concept of editorial independence is absolutely integral to Artforum—always has been and always will be,” she told Vogue earlier this week. “I fully plan on continuing the legacy that I’m inheriting from not just my immediate predecessor, but the last few editors who have all done such good work to make Artforum a publication that is trusted and bold.”
Ryan’s first issue at the magazine’s helm will be the this year’s Summer issue; her start date has not been confirmed.
Vogue spoke with Ryan earlier this week ahead of the announcement. Below, she discusses her background in academia and curation, her love of digital art, and what plans she has for Artforum under her leadership. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.