Running Dog

Running Dog (2017-2023) was an online arts publication that produced reviews and long-form articles on contemporary art. Since its inception, the editorial ethos of the publication was two-fold: firstly, to expand the culture of criticism around contemporary art, and secondly, to provide a necessary platform for experimental modes of arts writing. 

Running Dog was also a political project. It wished to (re)consider the precarious nature of online publishing; to remain unbeholden to those in power; to know when to delay or avoid action, and to build collectivity and community. The practice and production of art (and the writing that responds to it) does not exist outside of the world in which we live. If anything, what our contemporary moment has shown us is how much the art world is situated within, and answerable to, the material context of our time.

Above all else, we endeavoured to create a multi-vocal space for emerging and established writers who wished to challenge the current modes of contemporary arts writing and rethink the potential of the digital space. Our contributors included poets, critics, film scholars, musicians, and fiction writers.

Running Dog’s work has been cited in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Overland, and New Matilda, among others, and we were nominated for Best Arts and Culture Program at the 2019 FBI SMAC Awards.

Naomi Riddle founded Running Dog in October 2017. From 2017-2020, Running Dog published weekly reviews and features about exhibitions and events taking place in Sydney and regional New South Wales, Australia. During that time, Running Dog’s articles included critical commentary, sonic responses, collaborative pieces, reviews of digital exhibitions, video game analysis, fan fiction and poetry. We responded to the work of both emerging and established artists, and considered exhibitions presented at institutions, commercial galleries, university galleries, festivals, and artist-run-spaces.

In 2018, Naomi attended Triple Canopy’s Publishing Intensive in Los Angeles and began an ongoing series of ‘Letters from the Editor’. Over the course of 2019, the editorial team expanded to include Hannah Jenkins as Assistant Editor, and Running Dog partnered with Verge Gallery to produce a four-part public program. Laura La Rosa was announced as our 2019 First Nations Emerging Critic and we established our poetry micro-residency program—an initiative that allowed poets to produce new work over the course of two months, which was then distributed via our monthly newsletter.

In 2020, Running Dog announced Diego Ramirez as Editor-at-Large, and we produced three special issues: Automate Me, Crowd the Revolution and Live Stream Now. We also published work in partnership with Campbelltown Arts Centre, the Keir Choreographic Award, and Sweatshop Literacy Movement, and awarded six digital poetry micro-residencies. At the start of 2021, Running Dog was invited to participate as part of No Show at Carriageworks, a showcase of eleven artist-led initiatives from across New South Wales.

From 2017-2020, Running Dog was the only publication producing weekly articles on contemporary art in New South Wales, and it remained an independent, grassroots and non-commercial endeavour. In early 2021, we ceased publishing weekly reviews to focus on long-form projects, which were published over the course of 2021 and 2022. We also produced our first print publication: Sarinah Masukor’s Scenes… (For a pilot about) (2021), an artist book about the creative process.   

Throughout its history, Running Dog remained committed to its core founding principle: to provide emerging and established arts writers the time, space, and editorial support to produce innovative and thoughtful arts writing and criticism.