20 Seconds Magazine is taking a break
We're taking time to recalibrate
After more than six years and nine issues of dedication to making our print-only publication, we are taking a step back to recalibrate.
20 Seconds Magazine launched Issue 1 on January 20, 2020, in a much different social, artistic, musical and creative landscape. For many people, the first thought that comes to mind looking at that date is the eventual onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. But not for us. After almost two years of preparation, we were determined to bring 20 Seconds into circulation and keep it there.
Why are we taking a break?
We need time and space to explore where 20 Seconds is going and how we want to get there. The cultural economy and landscape have changed in the last six years and we need to consider the best way to grow 20 Seconds and take advantage of the work our team has invested into documenting experimentation in the arts through a critical—and political—lens.
20 Seconds will be back.
20 Seconds Issue 10 will be published in May 2027.
How can you help?
Buy issues of 20 Seconds Magazine online.
We are still, and have always been, 100 per cent independent—and free of any advertising.
Our shipping rates are below what it costs to ship 20 Seconds Magazine, because we have always prioritized the goal of getting the magazine to you, the reader. The best way to support 20 Seconds Magazine is to buy copies of the magazine that you might not already have. Even better, buy one for a friend.
You can also donate to info@20secondsmag.com.
Do you want to collaborate with us?
We are looking to grow our team of volunteers.
We are a nomadic, international team of writers, designers and photographers.
We always need help with the production of the magazine and its stories, events, radio shows and website.
Although temporary collaborations are welcome, we are really looking for people that want to take on responsibility within the framework of the magazine, people who are familiar with it, and have a particular point of view that they are enthusiastic about sharing with others—and us!
What are we looking forward to?
Staying on the airwaves through 20 Seconds Radio, on Archipel Stations Community Radio.
The (official) marriage of 20 Seconds Radio and Famous Grapes Recordings, the imprint for experimental music founded by 20 Seconds editors Daniel Melfi and Timothy Isherwood.
Threading up the projector this fall for more editions of 20fps: the series for sound and experimental film.
But before we go:
Matthew Liegghio and I began work on 20 Seconds almost two years before January 2020. The pandemic was never going to stop that, but it did hinder much of our intentions to host fundraising events, concerts and other in-person gatherings. Still, we managed, especially in Berlin, to collaborate with our favourite venues and with their passionate, community-oriented and talented staff. We would especially like to thank Rhinoçéros, Morphine Raum, 90mil, KM28, A.L. Berlin, Refuge Worldwide and Cashmere Radio.
It wasn’t all about Berlin, though. We also hosted events and got the chance to interact with readers and collaborators in Athens, Bologna, Milan, Munich, Naples and Toronto. In 2024, we began our monthly broadcast of 20 Seconds Radio on Archipel Stations Community Radio.
In the process of publishing nine issues of 20 Seconds Magazine, we collaborated with over 150 artists and workers in the arts, in the process creating a community that stretches across six (!) continents and countless creative realities. These experiences continue to expand our understanding of how politics, the arts and experimentation are not only inseparable but rely on one another to push toward a future we all want to help build, by us and for us.
Thank you,
Daniel Melfi
Editor-in-Chief