Journal of Contemporary Painting invites submissions for issue 12.1 (to be published in April 2026) on the theme ‘The Curatorial and Painting’.

For the issue of JCP ‘The Curatorial and Painting’, we want to explore the contexts made for painting to be shown and painting’s impact on those contexts. We are interested in two ways of understanding an exchange between painting and the curatorial: through spatial/durational dimensions and through social practices.

Potential themes include:
- painting and the wall, screen and partition
- architecture and design for and with painting
- painting in social/public/non-art spaces
- painting/pictorial space as reference for curatorial practice
- affordances for painting in relation to curatorial practice
- being attentive to social relations as well as material objects.

Conceptually, we see a tension between the empathic and ethical aspects of painting and its often undeclared alliances with power. We are also aware of the need to decentre the predominance of Western and Northern knowledge in the discourses around both painting and the curatorial and we’re interested in representing the positions and experiences of artists and curators alongside scholarly and critical essays. We are particularly interested in the potential of using social reproduction theory to explore and analyse these topics.

We invite proposals to contribute in the following formats:

- Articles (4000-6000 words including notes and references)
- research reports (2500-4000 words); ‘in-conversations’ with artists, designers, or scholars (2000-4000 words)
- visual essays (1500-2500 words with emphasis on visual evidence), and reviews of events and new publications (750-1500 words).

Please submit your contribution by 1 September 2025.

For more details on submission procedures and journal guidelines, please visit the JCP website:
https://www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-contemporary-painting

The journal is double-blind peer-reviewed in order to maintain the highest standards of scholarly integrity.

This themed issue is edited by Dr Alison Green, Reader in Art, Curating and Culture at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London and Dr Moyra Derby, Associate Professor of Fine Art, School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, University of Leeds. For questions and enquiries, please email: a.greencsm.arts.ac.uk and M.E.Derbyleeds.ac.uk.

We are considering options for an online symposium to test ideas in advance of the contribution deadline. Please email if this is something you would be interested in participating in or attending.