When you know what you’re writing about and what you want to say, then you’re already very close to being able to write something that everybody will understand.
– Sarah Schug
Sticky Teeth’s micro-interviews ft. words on the intersection of arts and writing.
In this edition, Brussels-based journalist Sarah Schug discusses the challenges of language in the art world (the need for accessibility, the diminishing value of art writing) and touches on her proudest accomplishment—a self-published book on Iceland’s contemporary art scene.
xx Tahney
Sarah Schug is a journalist based in Brussels writing about art, culture, design and photography.
Her work has been published in L’Officiel Art Belgium, TL Magazine, Previiew Journal, and others. She’s the author of the 5th edition of the Brussels Art Guide, has published a book on Iceland’s art scene and also founded seeyouthere.be, an online mag putting forward the Belgian cultural scene. She curated the exhibition “No place like home” at Brussels Art Department and project-managed the 2019 edition of A Performance Affair. Since September, Sarah has been a staff writer at The Parliament Magazine.
Tahney: How should we be approaching arts writing?
What arts writers (et al.) do you resonate with?
Another quote from Peter Schjedahl?
Core moments from your own arts writing practice?
My most recent publication: I was hired by Fondation pour les Arts to write the 5th edition of the Brussels Art Guide, which features 10 portraits of women who are integral parts of the Brussels art scene as well as all the best places and spaces to experience art. The local scene here is super international but quite small in comparison to the usual art hubs, and much more welcoming than London or Paris. Come to Brussels, people!
My favourite project, and the one I’m most proud of, is a book I wrote on the Icelandic contemporary art scene, which deserves much more attention than it currently receives.
What I was most impressed about was that so much is happening outside of Reykjavík, in defunct fishing factories in remote villages, for instance. We (photographer Pauline Miko, graphic designer Raya Boteva, and myself) self-published 500 copies. It’s almost sold out. It’s a journey around the island and at the same time features different voices of the Icelandic art landscape, from curators and framers to artists and gallery directors.
Other arts centric writing you’re loving, atm?
Not necessarily arts writing, but written by artists or weaving art into the story:
Olivia Laing: The Lonely City
Jenny Odell: How to Do Nothing – Resisting the Attention Economy (this really spoke to me, as I continuously oscillate between “I should delete all social media” and “I don’t post enough to get my work out there”. Although, I do find her a little condescending at times).
David Willis: “It is my personal mission as an art writer to strike a balance between critical rigour and concise readability.”
One night in bed, I decided to stop saving tattoos on Instagram. The more I saved, the more ads popped up, each increasing my fear that most tattoos are badly chosen and badly executed, as if all rules of visual art and even aesthetic pleasure usually policing other artforms are irrelevant.
Carmela Vienna talks about the overreliance on AI in arts marketing and social media, and the need for more inspired, well-edited content, as well as treating arts marketing more seriously within arts orgs in general.
Too, with the Venice Biennale as a whole, in this unearthliness, the curatorial was a blur of impact and thought. I wasn’t sure if it was possible to achieve anything cohesive. I’m still not sure if it’s possible to look at, en masse like this, the variety of mediums, ideas, and cultural contexts and get it and not just be overwhelmed, weary, and clueless.
Haneen Mahmood Martin talks about shared accountability and diverse perspectives in the arts industry, matching words with actions—i.e., more POC in leadership positions—and the use of clear, accessible, but impactful language.
Liv Collins has an infectious energy rare in an industry of pretension. I’m really excited to feature her in this sticky teeth micro-interview for her truths about writing education at art school and some hot insider arts reading suggestions.