New Ways of Seeing: Writing About Craft in Context
New Ways of Seeing: Writing about Craft in Context. Photo by Cory Marie Podielski.
“Art criticism is really a kind of speculative fiction,” wrote critic Jarrett Earnest, emphasizing that the challenge of “finding words for visual art” can uncover meaningful insights about culture and human experience. In this workshop, explore the joy of writing about visual art—your own or others’—and develop your voice. Use personal experiences, archival research, and reflections on current events to enhance your ideas. The focus will be on generating new essays, but poetry and other forms are also welcome. All levels welcome.
Robert Alan Grand (he/him) is a writer and photographer based in Asheville, NC. His writings have appeared in numerous publications, including Art in America, Garden & Gun, the Oxford American, and Burnaway, where he currently serves as Carolinas Editor at Large. Grand's 2020 feature essay on the Brasstown Carvers for The Bitter Southerner was named a Longreads Editors' Pick, and he is a 2025 recipient of the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant.