WANTED: Someone to restore Arteri and give it 2nd life. Interested? Email: mail.sharonchin.com
Welcome to the Arteri F.A.Q.! You’ll find the answers to all your burning questions.
ABOUT US
EDITORIAL POLICY
COMMENTS POLICY
I WANT TO WRITE POSTS FOR ARTERI
I WANT TO POST MY EVENT ON THE EVENT CALENDAR
I WANT TO ADVERTISE ON ARTERI
I WANT TO GIVE ARTERI MONEY
I WANT TO BE AN INTERN
I WANT TO HELP YOU IN ANY WAY AS A VOLUNTEER
I WANT ARTERI TO PARTNER WITH ME ON A PROJECT
Who’s behind Arteri?
Arteri was created in March 2009 by Simon Soon (a curator) and Sharon Chin (a visual artist). They were later joined by Eva McGovern (also a curator). Recently Dill Malik works for us on the admin side. Friends and colleagues in the arts and other professions help us in a casual way. Sometimes there are interns. We also thank Johnny McGeorge for giving us an identity and the name ‘ARTERI’.
Are you an art blog, art website or online art magazine?
It’s like asking, are you a biscuit, a baked confection or a delicious sweet snack? Basically we don’t know. We post stuff mostly about visual art in Malaysia and South East Asia because that’s what we do professionally. But we also put up anything related to this big thing called ‘culture’.
Do you have an office?
We used to. But we are now completely virtual. Email is the best way to contact us – info AT arterimalaysia DOT com.
What do you post?
It’s a mix bag. You get critical writing, casual observation, personal reflection, cam-whoring (mostly at exhibition openings), poems, reviews, photo essays, journalism, profiles, interviews, cartoons and so on and so forth. We post in Bahasa Malaysia and English.
What DON’T you post?
Advertorials and press releases.
How often do you post?
We try to post something everyday. However, the site is a labour of love, and there will be times when updates slow down. You can help by suggesting or contributing content.
What are you trying to do?
Besides getting enough food, sleep and trips to the toilet, our goals are two-pronged:
1. Make art more accessible to the general public by presenting it in a fun, friendly and insightful way.
2. Encourage dialogue between people in the art scene (artists, curators, collectors, gallery owners, art workers, managers, critics and audiences)
What/Who funds Arteri?
We have received grants from Balai Seni Lukis Negara’s Tabung Bantuan Seni and the MATAHATI Art Fund. Other than that, Arteri is a labour of love.
You can help us by advertising, donating or writing for us.
I’ve emailed you before, why haven’t you replied?
Sorry! Please don’t take it personally. Arteri is a labour of love. We run on lots of passion but limited resources. If you keep trying, we usually do answer eventually. We’re still figuring out ways to be more efficient. You can help by volunteering, contributing content or advertising.
If you have a question, please read through the F.A.Q. Good chance you’ll find your answer here already.
How do you source your content/What is your editorial policy?
Things get to be posted on Arteri in a number of ways:
1. We write it ourselves. ‘We’ means Simon Soon, Sharon Chin and Eva McGovern. Anything we write will have our initials at the end, i.e. (SS), (SC) or (EM). Sometimes ‘We’ also means our interns.
2. We ask our personal and professional networks to write for us on particular topics that we think will be interesting to readers.
3. People send us their writing and ask for it to be published. In the past, this has included artists, galleries, freelance writers/critics/curators and members of the public. We reserve the right to make decisions about whether or not to publish, but in general we’re very open. See the F.A.Q. below about writing posts for Arteri.
We DON’T publish blatant self-promotions or press releases pretending to be ‘critical’ and ‘objective’ writing.
Writers MUST disclose/declare their biases and self-interest, either in the contributor bio or somewhere in the article. For example, if you’re part of an exhibition (as artist or curator), you need to say so. If you used to work for an organization whose event you are writing about, you need to say so.
4. We look for people who are already writing about art (such as in blogs, Facebook notes or printed publications) and ask them for permission to repost their material on Arteri.
Can you review/write about/promote my exhibition/performance/event/work?
We’d love to, but we can’t. Instead, please think of other ways you can bring attention to your work by encouraging dialogue about it, which we will be happy to publish. You could have an interview about your work with a friend or get someone else to review it then send it in to us. See the F.A.Q. below about writing posts for Arteri.
NOTE: We don’t post things for blatantly self-promotional purposes. To an extent everything is self-promotional, but the emphasis needs to be on creating dialogue, encouraging independent thinking or offering something of value to our readers.
If you want to post your event on our Event Calendar, please go to the Events Submission page and follow the instructions carefully.
Do you screen the comments?
Yes. We reserve the right to delete or edit comments that are personal attacks, racist, sexist, bullying or demeaning.
Some comments have been very harsh. By allowing these comments to be published, does this reflect the views of Arteri or the people behind Arteri?
No. The opinions expressed by other contributors or in the comments in no way reflect our personal views.
We mainly believe that people should have the freedom to express their thoughts, even if they are irresponsible, rude or offensive. Hence, we treat censorship as a last resort.
If we had the resources, we would moderate the comments more closely, in order to encourage discussions that are constructive as opposed to damaging. But we don’t, so we can’t diffuse every flame war. Please understand that the nature of the internet allows people to express themselves more aggressively than they would in real life. Email us personally if you feel that boundaries have been crossed and we should do something about it – info AT arterimalaysia DOT com.
What content do you publish?
Please look through our past posts to get an idea of what we publish.
Types of posts: Critical writing, casual observation, personal reflection, cam-whoring (mostly at exhibition openings), poems, reviews, photo essays, journalism, profiles, interviews, cartoons, videos, podcasts, news, updates, opportunities, manifestos, translations, tutorials and more.
Subjects: visual art, performance, art collecting, poetry, pop culture, language, politics, business of art, art career tips, craft, stationary, art management, body art, education, fashion, freedom of expression, design, art history, art criticism and more.
Can I write about my own exhibition/performance/event/work/gallery/shop?
Yes. However, we don’t post things for blatantly self-promotional purposes. To an extent everything is self-promotional, but the emphasis needs to be on creating dialogue, encouraging independent thinking or offering something of value to our readers.
Suggestions for ways to write about your own stuff: have an interview/conversation with someone else, jot down personal reflections about your experience, write a tutorial for a D.I.Y. project, free sample mp3 track, podcast, short video, excerpts of poetry or chapters from a book and so on.
IMPORTANT: Writers MUST declare/disclose their biases and self-interest either in the contributor bio or somewhere in the article. For example, if you’re part of an exhibition (as artist, curator, etc), you need to say so. If you used to work for an organization whose event you are writing about, you need to say so.
What DON’T you post?
Advertorials and press releases. Your press releases belong in the Event Calendar, so please don’t send them in as a ‘review’ or ‘essay’. We can tell the difference.
I’m not an art expert, can I still write for you?
Yes! We welcome all approaches, reactions or engagement with art.
Here are some ideas:
Go to our Contributor Submission page and follow the guidelines carefully, OR email us: info AT arterimalaysia DOT com. State clearly what you intend to write about.
I’m an art expert, how do I publish my review/essay/poem/rant on Arteri?
Go to our Contributor Submission page and follow the guidelines carefully, OR email us: info AT arterimalaysia DOT com. State clearly what you intend to write about.
My stuff has already been published in a blog/magazine/book/catalogue, can it still be posted on Arteri?
Yes! But you need to clear the copyright issue with the previous publisher and make sure all necessary credit is given.
Will I get paid?
At the moment, no.
Please go to the Events Submission page and follow the instructions carefully. This is the only way to get your event posted on the calendar. Sending information independently by email will not work.
Thanks for your support! Please go to the Advertising page for all you need to know.
We love you. Please go to the Donate page for all you need to know.
Before you jump in, take note of the following:
We don’t have an office. You will mostly work online independently, with occasional meetings in a café. You’ll need to have your own base and computer with reliable internet access. If your internship requires a lot of contact hours and in-person supervision then it’s not suitable for Arteri. Your tasks will be similar to what’s described in the Volunteer section below.
Interested? Email us: volunteer AT arterimalaysia DOT com. State clearly your preferred dates, requirements and expectations.
You are so amazing. We need:
Facebook helper elf – you’ll maintain and develop our Facebook community
Twitter helper elf – you’ll update Arteri’s twitter
Event calendar helper elf – you’ll upload submitted events onto the event calendar system
Advertising helper elf – you’ll answer enquiries and manage stuff related to advertising
Content generating helper elf – you’ll search around the net and request permission for available content suitable to be published on Arteri (e.g. from artist blogs)
Contacts database helper elf – you’ll update and maintain our email contacts
Links and Directory helper elf – you’ll compile useful links and directory information
Translating helper elf – you’ll translate articles into Bahasa Malaysia, English, Tamil or Chinese.
Email us: volunteer AT arterimalaysia DOT com. State clearly how you want to help.
Sorry, but it’s not possible at the moment. Our priority is to develop Arteri into a sustainable online platform that serves the art community and develops new audiences for art. Put it this way: by blogging for us, posting your event on the calendar or advertising with us, Arteri already becomes part of your project and vice versa.