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.
