Artforum is moving to a co-editor model after just over a year under editor-in-chief Tina Rivers Ryan. Rachel Wetzler and Daniel Wenger will share the top editorial role starting in March, with the title of editor-in-chief being retired.
Ryan, who joined the magazine in early 2024 as a specialist in digital art and contemporary practice, departs after a tenure marked by internal reorganization. She brought significant curatorial experience from seven years at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and prior work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but her time at Artforum proved brief.
Wetzler arrives in the role after a year as executive editor—she was promoted to that position last year after joining Artforum from Art in America, where she'd been a senior editor. Wenger brings editorial experience from the New Yorker, Medium, and Harper's. The shift to co-leadership suggests the magazine is moving away from the traditional single-editor model.
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Start Your News DetoxRyan's departure comes roughly two years after David Velasco was fired as editor-in-chief, a decision that sparked significant internal upheaval. Velasco's exit followed Artforum's publication of a letter calling for a Gaza ceasefire and Palestinian liberation—a move that triggered staff resignations and a contributor boycott. That crisis exposed tensions around editorial independence and institutional values at the publication, and the subsequent leadership changes reflect an attempt to stabilize operations.
In a statement, Ryan emphasized the care she witnessed in the publication's work across print, digital, and live events, suggesting her exit is amicable. Publisher Danielle McConnell praised Ryan's "dedication, professionalism, and tireless energy," framing her tenure as preparatory work for the next phase under shared leadership.
The move to co-editors represents a structural shift in how one of the art world's most influential publications will operate going forward. Whether the collaborative model addresses the underlying tensions that shaped the past two years remains to be seen.
