For the upcoming third edition of our magazine, zandbank issue, we are seeking proposals for textual contributions (e.g. essays, artistic research, academic work, reviews, comics, poetry, etc). Writing duos are also welcome. We are looking for writers based in the Northern-Netherlands. NB. This is an unpaid program. You can sign up until 31 Oct ‘25, 23:59, UTC+1 (NL time).
Context
Zandbank is an arts criticism platform rooted in Groningen, NL. We believe in slow reflection, in sustainable criticism, and the power of extensive contemplations and considerations - and wish to move away from "actuality" and rushed writings. Currently, we are facilitating the production and spreading of art texts and entering several archives for republications.
The contributions will form the body of our upcoming magazine publication zandbank issue 03, which will also include an artist contribution and archival republications of texts from (recent) Northern Dutch art history. The magazine will be produced in print and distributed across different countries, as well as being published online on zandbank.org.
compensation
NB. zandbank is run by volunteers and this is an unpaid opportunity.
theme
In a field saturated and restrained by hyper-specific thematic open calls, we rather open up the space for writers to pursue their own interests, in their specificity, particularity, and idiosyncrasy. We work without a pre-set theme, because we believe this is more fruitful for the development of a healthy and diverse art-discursive climate, and in the past it has shown that themes will naturally emerge from the writing process. However, our general interests include (but are not limited to): critical ruralities, policy, aesthetic theory, artistic research, decoloniality, street art, and archival practices. Do refer to our earlier issues or website to get a general gist of our interests and approach.
types of writing
We welcome writers from any kind of practice (be it academic, artistic, etc), not just those who solely focus on writing alone. In the proposal, we would like to see why the text is currently important for you to write, both personally and societally, as criticality and contextualisation are important to us at zandbank. We are also curious how your proposal is influenced by your own societal positionality and your geographic context. We don’t believe in one way of writing, and are very to open proposals which are experimental, scorching, mourning, rural, idiosyncratic, controversial, loving, mad, comedic, furious, whatever the fuck floats your boat, we are here for it.
program
The development of the texts together with the other writers and zandbank team is an integral part of the program. We start with a dedicated writing weekend, in order to get a good start on developing a base for your text. After that, we will have three monthly meetings with peer-to-peer feedback (exchanging feedback among each other), where writers and external critics will discuss the texts all together. These sessions happen in the city centre of Groningen. They have mandatory attendance, so you have to be available for these dates. We finalise the program with an afternoon of reading the texts out loud and making audio recordings, as well as a magazine launch.
accessibility
Within the constraints of the editing and printing process there is some space for adjusted timelines, extra feedback sessions or any other necessary adjustments that need to be made to fit your accessibility needs. We are a small neurodivergent team! If you are homebound or unable to travel for any reason, please reach out to discuss online participation.
jury
The submissions will be judged anonymously by a jury consisting of Zandbank members and previous contributors to zandbank issue. We focus on compiling a complementary group of various perspectives which can enter into fruitful dialogue with each other.
timeline
31 Oct ‘25 23:59 - - - - - - - submission deadline
Early Nov ‘25 - - - - - - - reviewing submissions
Week of 10 Nov ‘25 - - - - - - - announcing results
29+30 Nov ‘25 - - - - - - - writing weekend
14 Jan 2026, Wed, 18:00 – 21:00 - - - - - - - zandbank | issue #03 | meeting 1
11 Feb 2026, Wed, 18:00 – 21:00 - - - - - - - zandbank | issue #03 | meeting 2
11 Mar 2026, Wed, 18:00 – 21:00 - - - - - - - zandbank | issue #03 | meeting 3
Apr ‘26 - - - - - - - launch issue #03