Timed to Miami Art Week, Gagosian has launched the second edition of their proprietary new publishing venture Gagosian Journal, featuring a breadth of original conversations, editorials, and guides to the city. Following on the heels of the first edition, Gagosian Journal: Paris 2024,

Gagosian Journal: Miami 2024 is a free, 40-plus page newspaper that is distributed at Art Basel Miami Beach as well as throughout the city. Within its pages are unique insights into everything from what goes on behind the scenes at major museums and in artist’s studios to expert reflections on art, architecture, and design, and even a spotlight on local chefs and cuisine. A wide-ranging endeavor, Gagosian Journal: Miami 2024 is an invaluable resource for navigating and exploring the city of Miami to the fullest.

With the newest release of Gagosian Journal, we reached out to the gallery’s Chief Creative Officer Alison McDonald to learn more about what goes into creating an issue of the publication, and what some of the highlights readers can look forward to.

Gagosian Chief Creative Officer Alison McDonald. Courtesy of Gagosian.

Since the launch of Gagosian Journal, what has the reception for the publication been like?

We have gotten amazing feedback on the Journal. It was distributed across Paris and available for free during the fair, which meant we had clients delighted to find the newspaper at their hotel or in nearby restaurants and cafes, and we also had people less familiar with our gallery picking up the paper on the way to the fair or at a museum bookshop. The Paris edition featured new works by Harold Ancart, an in-depth article on a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, and coverage of fantastic museum exhibitions that were not to be missed, such as the Tom Wesselmann show at Fondation Louis Vuitton. We also provided glimpses into unknown treasures at iconic museums, let people know about masterpieces from the Torlonia collection on view at the Louvre, and offered editorials on food, opera, cinema, architecture, literature, design, and much more, with plenty of recommendations from local Parisians.

What are some of the highlights from the second edition that stand out to you or that you find particularly intriguing that readers can look forward to?

For the Miami edition, Michael Auping wrote an enchanting article about the time John Chamberlain spent working in Sarasota, Florida. John Ravenal digs into the delicate balance between private museums and public institutions, the lack of government funding for the arts, and Miami’s resilient cultural landscape. Peter Marino discusses the origins of his bronze box sculptures. We also delve into the music scene with a spotlight on Miami legend DJ Uncle Al. We discuss the novels of Elmore Leonard and their profound influence on the films of Quentin Tarantino. There is an article on the architecture of Morris Lapidus and a conversation with Chef Masa where we get his take on food, design, and cigars. It’s full of great content.

Rachel Feinstein at the Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, Florida, 2024. Artwork: © Rachel Feinstein. Photo: Zaire Aranguren. Courtesy of Bass Museum of Art and Gagosian.

One feature includes a conversation between Rachel Feinstein and Jack Pierson. What made these voices important to highlight for the gallery in the context of Art Basel?

Rachel is a Miami native, and Jack spent a good deal of time in the city during his formative years. You can see various ways that the city, with its bright colors and spirited scene, have made a lasting impression on their work. They are both incredibly interesting and dynamic, so being a fly on the wall while they reminisce about wild times that they spent in Miami is a pleasure, and it provides an interesting perspective on how much the city has changed over the years. And, of course, they talk about Rachel’s magnificent exhibition that is currently on view at the Bass Museum of Art.

How do you see Gagosian Journal fitting within Gagosian’s greater publishing program? 

The Journal is in many ways an extension of our Quarterly magazine, which builds on decades of publishing efforts. As a newspaper it allows us to move more quickly, and, where the Quarterly provides a well-tested platform for in-depth articles, the Journal showcases articles at a shorter length with faster turnaround times. But what is truly special abo—ut the Journal is that it offers Gagosian an opportunity to bring our artist’s efforts to the widest audience possible, especially during busy art fair seasons. We plan to publish the Journal only during strategic moments where we feel there is a unique energy to engage top clients and hopefully find an enthusiastic group of emerging collectors interested in learning more about art and the market.

Gagosian Journal: Miami 2024. Courtesy of Gagosian.

Outside of that, what do you see the journal contributing to the greater art world and fair scene ecosystem? What opportunities does it provide that weren’t previously available?

The art world has so much to offer and yet it reaches a relatively small audience compared to other creative endeavors, such as music, performance, literature, film, and on. Traditional arts media tends to focus on reviews and journalism, often for an audience of well-versed insiders. We hope that the Journal extends the gallery’s mission by showcasing exciting new work fresh from artists’ studios and contextualizing historical works with thoughtful insights and quality scholarship. Plus, we have a unique opportunity to offer local perspectives on the larger cultural landscapes of cities, as we have done with Paris and Miami. We want the Journal to feel approachable for everyone, no matter how long they’ve had an interest in art, which is why it is available for free and widely distributed.

Can you give us some insight into what goes into producing an edition of Gagosian Journal? Where do you start?

We are fortunate to have an incredibly talented team at the gallery, which is always a great place to start conversations around any new project. When we plan for a new edition of the Journal, we focus on the time and place where it will publish, and we ask questions: What has that place meant for artists historically? Who is doing important work in the region? Are there institutions in need of funding? Is there an opportunity to shine a light on something that would benefit from the exposure? And on. Then we seek out experts—curators, writers, museums directors, and others—to help us address those questions and share their stories. It helps that the gallery has a long history and wonderful connections, from which all our publishing efforts benefit.

Learn more about Gagosian Journal: Miami 2024 here.