We invite you to explore 'arts criticism' as an act of holding space and to write a text about an area of culture that interests you, or that you deeply care about: be it an artwork, film, song, story, object, place, moment in time or a cultural movement. We're interested in critical writing pieces that challenge the top-down, elitist approach to thinking or writing about art, and that explore the subversive potential of writing from a place of love: unconventional texts that move towards a more generous, peer-to-peer arts ecosystem. What is a story, place, or artistic work that you think deserves to be held and remembered? Your response might ground itself directly in the urgencies, community histories or spaces of the Black Country, or it might look further afield to an idea or work that inspires you. We welcome experimental, hybrid and collaborative writing in all styles, that could include (but not be limited to): autofiction (essays merging factual and fictive storytelling), poetry, songwriting, scriptwriting, arts critique, memories and cultural reflections. Or conversational pieces such as transcripts, letters, dialogues or exchanges between collaborators, and/or photo-essays, annotated maps or other hybridised works combining images and text. We are delighted to announce that, for Issue 4, artist and writer Kevin Hunt will join us as co-editor and will be leading a workshop with the selected cohort of writers on Thursday 3 December, 2026. Kevin Hunt is an artist and writer originally from Liverpool, now working cross-regionally between the Midlands, Wales and the North West of England. Drawing from personal experiences and memories navigating lower-class architecture, and often incorporating the materials, forms and language that surrounded him during his formative teenage years, his sculptural - and more recently, written-practice - emerges from his queer and working class perspective. Kevin is the inaugural West Midlands Regional Editor for Corridor8. Each writer will receive a £250 fee and £50 towards materials, plus editorial support. Local travel costs to the workshop will be reimbursed. Production Schedule First draft deadline: required by the end of January, 2027. Final draft deadline: required by mid-March, 2027. The Printing Room was established through Multistory's artist development programme, Blast! that champions emerging artists from across the Black Country and provides time, space and support to take creative risks and develop new work. The journal is designed and printed by The Holodeck, a printmaking and design studio founded in 2013 in Birmingham, specialising in Risograph, Letterpress and traditional printmaking techniques. Blast! is funded by Arts Council of England. Please send a single PDF to [email protected], with ‘The Printing Room 4’ in the email subject line. The PDF should contain: Your mobile number and email and your town and postcode. This opportunity is open to artists / writers who are currently living in the Black Country (within the Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton boroughs). When you submit your application, please can you also complete the monitoring form using the link here. We will use the information only for equality monitoring. The information is anonymous and is not connected to your application or to the information used to make decisions.Job Summary
Job Description
Job Requirements
How to Apply
A short proposal for your piece, outlining how it relates to the theme of ‘arts criticism’ (maximum 300 words).
A CV and minimum one example of previous writing (incorporated into the PDF or provide a link if it’s online)
You can also apply by emailing a video or audio clip of up to 3 minutes.