Headlands Center for the Arts

Artist Statement

I’m the editor-in-chief of Outland, an online magazine about digital art that launched in November 2021. As a critic I have varied interests, but my writing often addresses art that is somehow related to new technologies. In recent years I have undertaken several projects exploring the relationships between institutions and their audiences. My work in that field is based on the belief that viewers (and not only professional critics) engage in a creative dialogue with works of art. 

While at Headlands

I’d like to use my time at Headlands to develop some essay and book ideas, and explore other interests. Some things I’ve been thinking about are the use of social media diction in contemporary literature, the moralist tendency in art criticism of the last decade, and the potential for games and role play as techniques of engagement at art institutions.

Selected Work

Brian Droitcour, Co-Create 
produced for the People’s Guide to the Queens International, 2018-19.

Brian Droitcour, Provision issue 1
produced for Converge 45 in Portland, OR, 2017

Brian Droitcour, “Subcultural Treasures”
originally published in Art in America, May 2018

Brian Droitcour, “Vernacular Criticism”
originally published in The New Inquiry, July 25, 2014

Brian Droitcour, “Open Channel: Commoning Institutional Voices”
originally published in Temporary Art Review, August 1, 2018