After nearly five decades of publishing contemporary art criticism from Atlanta outward, Art Papers is entering its final year with a deliberate public process shaped around access, reflection and continuity.
The Atlanta-based nonprofit will cease publishing at the end of 2026. Its leadership team has spent the past year designing what its executive and artistic director, Sarah Higgins, describes as an effort to “end well.”
That approach is now defining Art Papers’ final year.
A decision shaped by care
By 2023, ongoing financial pressures, compounded by broader instability in arts funding and print publishing, made it clear Art Papers could not continue operating as it had.
Rather than pursue a last-minute reinvention or shrinking its mission, Higgins and her board chose to pause and ponder a different path: What responsibility does a cultural institution have to its community when it knows it cannot continue?
That reframing led to a choice to fundraise, Higgins said, to give the organization time and capacity to close intentionally, avoiding the sudden loss of the programs, relationships and access Art Papers is known for.
Creating space to reflect
As part of that process, Art Papers will continue publishing online through 2026. Its final print issue is in the works. A planned retrospective book is also under development.
Much of the groundwork for the final year was laid in 2025 through a series of public programs. These focused on the future of art criticism and publishing. Last fall, Art Papers ran an Art Writing + Publishing Symposium at Ponce City Market, bringing together writers, editors and publishers from across the country. The organization also partnered with the Atlanta Art Fair for several programs, including Critical Abundance and a cultural partner booth at Pullman Yards. In November 2025, Art Papers hosted Reading as Resistance: Fall of Freedom National Day of Action at the Little Five Points Community Center.
Higgins said these events were designed to support what might come next, creating space for dialogue, reflection and connection ahead of the publication’s final chapter.
Where will the Art Papers’ work live?
Preserving access to Art Papers’ work has been a central part of planning this final year.
Its administrative archive — including governance records, financial documents, and board materials from its founding through present day—is housed at the Rose Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, part of Emory University. The collection is open by appointment to researchers interested in the publication’s institutional history.
Art Papers’ magazine back catalog, which Higgins noted is of greatest interest to readers, is archived in several public collections. The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia maintains a complete run, accessible as part of its institutional archives.
Art Papers is included in the Georgia Historic Newspapers database, part of the statewide GALILEO system, which provides searchable access to past issues. High-resolution digitization of earlier issues continues, expanding access to print editions that are increasingly rare.
For readers looking to build or complete personal collections, back issues are still available for purchase through the Art Papers shop for the remainder of the year.
An ending that stays in conversation
Higgins likens the process of guiding a beloved institution through its closing chapter to end-of-life care — uncertain and sometimes difficult, but grounded in respect.
As Art Papers approaches its final issue and farewell events, Higgins hopes readers won’t see the ending as something to skim past. Instead, she invites them to stay present and carry forward the conversations Art Papers shaped for nearly 50 years.
