ABOUT LOONBEEK

We call our nonprofit LOONBEEK a book-a-zine because, literally, it is a hybrid—soft and glossy on the inside, hardbound and protective on the outside. But also because we want our readers to get lost in it like it's an epic novel or an artist's monograph. Put it on a shelf and save it, or hand it to a dear friend.

As with, say, a box of dark chocolate truffles, take your time with our dear publication. Look at a page or two, put it down, savor it, circle back when you're ready for more of what we've treasure-hunted. You won't find it anywhere else. Let it feed you, surprise you, inspire you, even frustrate you. Let it get under your skin. And perhaps reach out directly to a contributor who really touches you—start a conversation!!

Finally, you should know that a huge motivation for us, making each LOONBEEK, is to support artists. By giving them a platform, a clean white canvas, to say their piece. But also by giving them real support, payment for each page of their powerful work. We hope eventually to extend their reach farther still with clothing, prints, books, and more. We're in an expansive mood. We hope you are, too!!

ABOUT US

Editor Alex Hart is a self-taught multicreative, learning (and un-learning) as she goes. In her life she has been a journalist, a curator, a poet, a painter, a collage artist, a mother, an instigator, a critic, a singer-in-the-shower and dancer-in-the-kitchen, and toujours a lover of things resonant and beautiful. Music, novels, film. Random stickers on the street. A passerby's smile. A small child holding a trusted beloved's hand. Motto: Where possible, unplug that dubious brain. Also: Trust, and go on hoping (Edward Lear). Some personal gurus: Vivienne Westwood, Beatrix Potter, Alexander Calder, Alice Neel, Erik Satie, Maurice Sendak, Louise Bourgeois, Amy Sedaris, Joseph Cornell, Ray Johnson, Pee Wee Herman oops Paul Reubens, Reggie Watts............!!!

Designer Jon Lackman is a journalist and author of the (mostly) nonfiction graphic novel The Woman With Fifty Faces, about the unjustly forgotten artist’s model / con artist Maria Lani. He’s covered politics, science, and the arts for Harper's, The New Yorker, Slate, and Wired. He completed a PhD in art history from NYU and a fellowship at the MacDowell Colony. He's represented by Mary Krienke of Sterling Lord Literistic. Currently at work on two books, one on why we shouldn’t force kids to go to school and another on the underappreciated potential for sport to transform the lives of adults.