Three Fold Proposal
to the Knight Foundation | January 5, 2020
Summary
Founded in 2020, Three Fold is
an independent publication that is free, thoughtful, and for the community. Our
journal presents critical perspectives on arts, culture, and society, in addition to original works in various media, including visual art,
literature, film, and music.
Existing in between the spryness of the
news and more exploratory points of view, Three Fold responds to
the community need for dialogue and support. As a friend and colleague recently wrote:
“Great long poems create space for contradiction, drifting, deepening, dailiness, loss, epiphany, and revival.” That is the kind of space we are manifesting with this publication.
Who We Are
This project is a collaborative effort. Last year, a volunteer collective of editors, including artists, authors, activists and curators, was organized to oversee the content in each of their respective sections with total autonomy. Our contributors are multinational and multigenerational, from Detroit and beyond. For example, the debut issue, released in November, included a historiography on the Malian griot by native Detroiter and scholar Nubia Kai; a multimedia performance by Palestinian-American dancer/choreographer Leyya Tawil; an in-depth conversation with octogenarian bass player Hakim Jami; and a dossier on moving image artist Ephraim Asili, who is just beginning to receive national attention for his work.
The Three Fold Editorial Advisory Board is comprised of artists and writers at the top of
their fields who provide guidance regarding our ethos and direction.
Additionally, the publication has partnered with leaders in the region, Media City
Film Festival and Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, in the promotion and distribution of an online archive of important new cinematic works and a political podcast by veteran activists based
in Detroit and California.
Further information about our staff and advisory board is available in the appendix.
Goals
To
publish writing with lasting literary value
To
connect Detroit artists, writers, and thinkers with colleagues across the country and overseas
To
strengthen ties between youth and elders by publishing writing by a diverse
range of voices at different stages of growth
To
push the arts forward by commissioning new creative works
To
provide space for informative, reflective pieces by eminent experts that are
not topical or time-sensitive, and thus less likely to be published in other
forums
Statement of Need
The need for Three Fold in our region is great, but the issues at play are
far from insurmountable. Our journal was established to
address these shortcomings in our region:
A lack of media support for the arts in Detroit, especially genuine, substantive
critique, and the underrepresentation of voices of Detroit’s Black majority. Three
Fold Advisory Board is one hundred percent POC- and artist-controlled. Contributors to Issue No. One were 50 percent POC.
The media landscape in Detroit focuses on local content by local writers. Three Fold is cultivating a community beyond geographic borders to expand Detroit’s cosmopolitan profile and to
safeguard against a strong regional perspective devolving into
provincialism. Rather than being “about” Detroit, Three Fold showcases ideas and issues that are germane to the vast interests
of Detroiters.
Standards and modes of journalism nationwide responding to the art world at-large are insufficient (i.e. “top ten” lists, blog posts and blurbs, descriptive criticism that opines without judgement, Q and A’s, gossip masquerading as reporting). Three
Fold sets itself apart in its multidisciplinary approach. Noteworthy
scholarship by seasoned commentators is balanced with perspectives on the emerging zeitgeist by a younger generation of writers and art in a variety of forms (screendance, spoken word recordings, video art, music, etc). Intercontextuality—the relationship between various forms of writing and art—creates new and surprising
juxtapositions.
Detroit
does not celebrate its history and talent adequately. There are Detroit
artists of significance in all fields who will not be with us much longer. Many
of them have legacies much greater than their acclaim, and some are still
creating important work. We feel it is imperative that there are advocates for
both these elders’ well-being and their work’s significance.
When
one aspect of the arts ecosystem is fractured, others are also fragile. By
circulating thought-provoking commentary and meeting social and aesthetic challenges
with know-how, we inspire conversation and advocate that patronage of the arts
is a civic duty.
Research
We have
extensively researched historic magazines, newspapers and publishers in Detroit. Our efforts are inspired
by pivotal projects in the community and a couple in New York:
Straits (1980s) A low-cost but evocatively designed journal edited by art critic Glen Mannisto
that showcased poetry and visual art by Detroit’s Cass Corridor artists
Solid
Ground (1980-87) An intellectually rigorous Black-focused magazine covering mostly
music and politics, edited by Kofi Notambu
Detroit
1981, Detroit 1982 and Detroit 1989 Dense, spiral-bound collection of b/w art and writing, curated by artist Sherry
Hendricks
Broadside Lotus Press (1965-present) A merging of two historic Detroit
publishing houses: Broadside Press, founded by Dudley Randall in 1965 and Naomi
Long Madgett's Lotus Press, founded in 1972. They are the oldest Black-owned
presses in the United States still in operation.
Brooklyn Rail (2000-present) Monthly publication based in New York City that provides an independent, international forum for arts, culture, and
politics. The journal, in
addition to featuring local reporting; criticism of music, dance, film, and
theater; and original fiction and poetry, covers contemporary visual art in
particular depth.
Ugly Duckling Presse (1990s-present) Publishing house in Brooklyn that favors emerging, international, and “forgotten” writers. Its
books, chapbooks, artist’s books, broadsides, and periodicals often contain
handmade elements, calling attention to the labor and history of bookmaking.
Metrics for Success
Quantitative
shift in social media followers and e-newsletter
subscriptions
Feedback
from community stakeholders, including constructive criticism
Reaching
an audience beyond the geographic borders of the region, including print subscriptions and local distribution sites
Annually
increasing our ability to commission art
Sustained
interest from contributors and growing readership in a diverse range of
communities
Increase in earned and contributed income streams
Audience Demographics
Our primary
demographic is comprised of native Detroiters, transplants,
ex-pats, and those we call “honorary” residents (individuals who’ve spent a lot of
time here)
of all ages and socioeconomic status. Our slightly secondary demographic is the
international arts and literary communities. In truth, our readership is not
defined by age, class, race, or geographic location. Instead, we believe our
community is localized in that is made up of those who share or identify with a
vision or mindset, who are interested in transitioning to an era that clarifies
our priorities and sense of responsibility.
As
the world examines the profound effects of technological advancement, economic
imperialism and racial injustice, Three
Fold considers the ways that a materialistic mindset has contributed to our
understanding of identity—especially as it pertains to the “value” of art and
parameters of property, both intellectual and real. Our ideal reader thinks like a Detroiter; they understand through adversity that solutions are a
collective endeavor.
Budget Summary
Three
Fold has committed to publishing four issues in 2021 and then ramping
up efforts in 2022 as a monthly journal. Our budget is flexible and adaptive.
The model is scalable, from print-on-demand to robust distribution locally and beyond, depending upon how much funding can be raised. Currently
we publish online-only because this seemed like an efficient, affordable,
and effective means of operating during the continued pandemic; however, we are
determined to publish in print in order to widen our local reach. As
professionals with experience in the fields of journalism and publishing, we
are ready and able to scale to print as soon as possible, should funding be
available.
First
and foremost, we are determined to pay our contributing artists and writers well. Writing is
the backbone of our endeavor. We aim big by soliciting pieces by such
recognizable scholars in the fields of arts and cultural critique as Fred Moten
and Claire Bishop, while also supporting the professional growth of Detroit’s rising authors,
poets, and journalists. Our secondary funding priority is design. Our inaugural issue last fall was designed in-house. With plans already in the works to improve the look, feel, and ease of utility of our online presence and move into print production, we need to hire a professional designer. Additionally, we are interested in developing new tools to interconnect community and working with a local, minority-owned community printer.
Our
revenue stream is a mix between earned and contributed income. Three Fold is
one facet of Trinosophes Projects, a nonprofit arts organization securing 501c3
status. For the past nine years, Trinosophes Projects has presented
international, multidisciplinary programming in a brick-and-mortar space in
Detroit’s historic Eastern Market district and recently launched a record label and publishing house. As such, our revenue stream is
diversified, including earned income from café and retail sales as well as
contributed income from private foundations, such as the Robert
Rauschenberg Foundation, and small business grants, like the $10,000 Hartbeat of Mainstreet grant we have received in order to pivot
our business model during the pandemic. Last spring, we met with a consultant in philanthropy who informed us that he believed foundations nationwide would be increasing their efforts to support artist-led initiatives due to the pandemic.
With
an influx of arts-based and journalistic funding becoming available to us (Andy
Warhol Foundation, Creative Capital, etc), as well as grants supporting contributions by POC artists/ writers, and with the help of individual contributions both big and small,
we can continue growing.
Appendix