Where have I been for the past 20 years for Variant magazine to have not crossed my path until now? With 380 arts, cultural and educational outlets throughout the UK and Ireland giving this Scottish-based innovative indie publication shelf space I have to wonder.
You see, Variant is not simply an arts and culture magazine, it is an art form in itself with editors Leigh French and Daniel Jewesbury the artists. It started life two decades ago at Glasgow School of Art as a colour glossy going for 65p but is now a black and white tabloid-style newsprint complimented by a strong user-friendly website where every issue and article is archived and easily downloadable. Despite the facelift the magazine’s objectives remain the same and Variant continues to deliver what it says it will on the cover: “in-depth coverage in the context of broader social, political & cultural issues.” And what’s more – it’s now “deliberately” free. “We strongly believe sales are an impractical and contradictory means of distributing a magazine whose intention is to reach as wide a readership as possible,” French explains, and with 45,000 copies printed and distributed each year (15,000 of each issue) and the same number of emails containing a synopsis with links to online articles sent out to individuals and e-lists it is no surprise that this “unassuming little arts journal” (in Variant’s own words) could be one of the largest non-subscription circulation of any visual arts magazine in the UK.
It is a little more surprising, however, to hear that Variant magazine is a charitable organisation that runs on a shoestring. Everyone who contributes does so on a voluntary basis: editorial, production, distribution, marketing and also public events. Income is generated through advertising, subscription (of which it has a large international base), donations and a small amount of public funding. It received only £10,000 this financial year (£9,000 from Scottish Arts Council (SAC) and £1,000 from Glasgow City Council (GCC)), “virtually the same sum as 9 years ago,” French comments.
Variant‘s journey through the last two decades has not been an easy one. It has found both benefactor and nemesis in the SAC: a “combative” relationship that resulted in the closure of Variant for two years when funding was withdrawn completely in 1994, and the threat of legal action due to a ‘defamatory’ email sent to SAC by the magazine in 2002. It also had a run-in two years later with the Office of the Scottish Charities Register (OSCR), who investigated the magazine following a complaint regarding its political nature. Speculation points to a reader’s email in response to an article entitled Letter From Palestine as the culprit, although as OSCR are not allowed to divulge the source of the complaint, this is not confirmed. Variant is sticking strong to its guns and defends its position by stating:
“We believe it constructive – and essential – to place articles that explicitly review the field of culture alongside articles on issues that inform or have consequences for the very production and subject of ‘the arts’. Variant‘s diversity of content frames ‘the arts’ in a ‘real world’ context of political and economic imperatives, rather than depicting them simply in terms of consumerist escapism. It moves ‘the arts’ out of a specialist niche and treats them with greater weight, and in so doing makes them available to readers whose attention might not otherwise be drawn to them – and vice versa.”
Alternative arts and culture publications, such as Variant must be applauded for standing up and taking their place in a society that will not support them. Now more than ever, we need them to present views that all too often remain ‘off-limits’ in mainstream media: “ignored, hidden, suppressed or censored.” For decades Variant has evoked debate, raised awareness, supported diversity and given the tiny independent voice a platform. It promotes the rights of the minority and disadvantaged, and has been involved in “groundbreaking work on the subject of equal opportunities.” Surely this is one of the most important roles art plays in life: to reflect and challenge society’s views. Not something the mainstream or public bodies seem eager to fund and not something French himself can fund (at a panel discussion in 2004 he admitted being on the dole for 8 years – I’m not sure if this is still the case.) The challenge, therefore, for the future of Variant is survival. “Each issue for us is, “that’s another one”…that’s how far ahead we can plan – the next issue,” French told an audience at the same 2004 panel discussion. It has published six further issues since then.
Despite my admiration and support for the ideals behind Variant magazine, for me, as a publication it falls short of the mark. When I ask around my circle few people have heard of it, and fewer have read it. Its long wordy jargon-filled articles about Neo-liberalism and the war on terror leave me wondering if it might fit better in the ‘academic journal’ camp than ‘arts magazine’ and maybe open up other avenues of funding. I also wonder just how much of the distribution sits gathering dust on gallery tables and bookshop shelves?
I believe Variant could have a brighter future if it had a more accessible communicative style, but maybe that would dilute the message it fights so desperately to get across. As Andrew Brighton, Senior Curator at Tate Modern stated in a review to the SAC in 2002, “any change would not be development, it would be a transformation. For good or ill, it would be the loss of what Variant is now,” and if it has managed to survive this long with such little funding and such public support then it must be doing something right.
