About COI:

COI is a publication bridging the relationship between art and culture, offering a nuanced space for understanding the current moment through the lens of artistic expression. Each season features essays that respond to or engage with artistic practice from the perspective of the Canadian Prairies.

About our name:

In the context of our project, COI is a word, an acronym, and methodological approach. It is easiest to begin with the acronym, i that stands for Contours Of I_________, the โ€œIโ€ being a revolving word that changes from season to season. The acronym, then, could stand for Contours of Identity, as it does for our first season. It could also stand for Contours of Intimacy, Contours of Interrogation, or Contours of Imagination. Each season, the conversations we have, writers we feature, and ideas we delve into will determine the ‘I’. 

COI, which we hope will become a word in and of itself, is also a guiding principle, grounded not only in the I and all its meanings, but in the C โ€” contours. 

A contour is an edge or boundary that defines the shape of something. Many of the subjects we aim to think, talk, and write about at COI are seemingly invisible or intangible. They are ideas, feelings, philosophies, and experiences that shape how we interact with art and culture. In order to understand those invisible things, in order to give them shape, we must try to find their edges. At COI, we aim to feature writing, thought, and artwork that helps to trace the edges of the visible and invisible things that shape contemporary life, the idea being that once something is given form, once it can be seen, felt, and understood, it can be engaged with.

Land Acknowledgement:

We acknowledge that we live and work as settlers in Amiskwacรฎwรขskahikan (Edmonton), on Treaty 6 territory โ€” the traditional lands of the Cree, Saulteaux, Blackfoot, Mรฉtis, Dene, and Nakota Sioux peoples.

As settlers, we commit to learning the true history of this territory and understanding the ongoing impacts of colonization. We acknowledge that colonial violence is deeply intertwined with capitalist systems of exploitation, and that both continue to cause harm to Indigenous peoples and communities today.

We are grateful to be guests on this land and acknowledge our responsibility to work toward justice, reconciliation, and systemic change.

As participants in digital technologies and systems of information and exchange, we acknowledge that this site and our activity across the internet lives on the land of many Indigenous nations. We recognize that these boundaries and territories are sacred.

We respect the rights of Indigenous data sovereignty, and we are committed to an ongoing process of collaboration, growth, and learning.

Where we’re coming from:

At COI, we believe arts writing should live in the world. It’s context should respond to present conditionsโ€”political, social, cultural, ecologicalโ€”beyond those solely focused around the art world. We believe that art writing should be a reflection of our contemporary moment, and invite readers to think critically about how culture shapes and is shaped by art. We also believe arts writing should exist to be read with ease. That is not to say that ideas cannot be challengingโ€”we are excited by ideas that inspire, provoke, challenge. We encourage writing that goes beyond traditional exhibition contexts, emphasizing how artworks resonate with individuals and shape their perspectives long after the exhibition has ended. We enjoy language that is meant to be read, enjoyed, engaged with by anyone who might be interested. As artists from the prairies, we are also interested in life in this part of the worldโ€”we believe that ways of life on the prairies are interesting and worth engaging, and that there is a perspective here that can speak to and offer insight into broader cultural conversations.

We prioritize fair and equitable compensation for both artists and writers, recognizing the value of their contributions to our publication. Our approach reflects a commitment to transparency and respect, aligning with industry standards while ensuring clarity for all involved. By compensating all contributors equally and fairly, we aim to foster a collaborative, respectful working environment. Our approach supports the creation of high-quality work while honouring the time, expertise, and creative labor of the artists and writers involved.

With COI, we are dedicated to considering the carbon footprint associated with online materials. We recognize the challenge of generating content for the online space in ways that consider the environment and the realities of the climate crisis, and have taken a few steps to keep this in mind. This publication prioritizes system-based fonts (common to both MAC and PC) which require fewer resources; we compress all images posted across the site and utilize separate links instead of embedded files to decrease file sizes stored on servers as well as the data required by users to view them;1see Considering the Carbon Footprint of the Online, Christina Battle, BlackFlash Expanded, November 28, 2022. we prioritize editing and clarity of writing to make sure readers don’t need waste time on errors making their visit to the site more energy efficient; similarly, we have opted for clean, simple, and consistent design to help readers reduce the amount of time navigating the publication. As we continue to generate content, we will work to streamline the website’s backend to reduce the number of files stored on our servers. This is slow work that is changing rapidly with the rise of AI — we are committed to keeping the reality and urgency of the climate crisis in mind as COI grows.

Read more about Editorsย Zachary Ayotteย andย Christina Battle on our Masthead page.

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With funding support from Canada Council for the Arts.

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