Literary Journal

Why Vandalism?

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Journals & literary magazines1 open opportunity listed

About the magazine

Why Vandalism? is an independent, web-based curatorial project founded in the early 2020s as a response to the increasing professionalization and market-driven logic of contemporary art institutions. Operating without a physical space, it functions as a decentralized platform for artists, writers, and critics whose work engages with institutional critique, ephemeral practices, and the politics of display. The project takes its name from a provocation: to question what constitutes vandalism in art—whether the gesture of refusal, the unauthorized intervention, or the refusal to produce commodifiable objects. Its core mission is to foster a community of practitioners who prioritize process, dialogue, and critical rigor over careerist advancement, often through online exhibitions, PDF publications, and collaborative writing.

Editorial focus

An online literary and poetry journal since 2007, Why Vandalism? features poetry and prose, new writing, speculative fiction, fantasy, science fiction, horror, experimental and sound art, curated from international contributors.

PoetryFictionCreative NonfictionTranslation

Submitting your work

Reading periodJan 1 to Dec 31

Reading feeNo

PaymentNo payment

Response timeLess than 3 months

Simultaneous submissionsNo

Unsolicited submissionsYes

Why Vandalism? typically announces open calls via its website and social media, with a preference for proposals that are conceptually sharp, formally inventive, and critically aware of their own conditions of production. Artists should avoid sending generic portfolios or press releases; instead, submit a concise project description (300–500 words) that articulates the work's relationship to the platform's ethos, along with relevant documentation (images, text, links). There is no fee to apply, and the review process is peer-based and non-hierarchical. Response times can be slow due to the volunteer nature of the project, so patience is advised. The platform favors work that is unfinished, provisional, or explicitly dialogic over polished, market-ready objects.

There is a comprehensive guide to submitting to Why Vandalism? on our site’s Submissions page. Please read. All changes and updates will be updated here, as well as any “news” on our site homepage.

Read official guidelines