Dear AACORN,

I'd like to announce a new journal called, "Organizational Aesthetics" at www.organizationalaesthetics.org

Organizational Aesthetics is about how the five senses and artistry inform business, non-profit, and government organizations. We mean for both terms, aesthetics and organizational, to be understood broadly to include a range of topics. Examples are the use of arts-based methods in organizations, theoretical accounts of aesthetic phenomena in organizations such as beautiful (or grotesque) leadership, and the art about/in/behind organizations. In fact, we hope that authors and artists will take us to places we haven’t even begun to describe here. The content of the journal is organized into four sections: Theory, Practice, Art, and Reviews.

  *   Theory –This section provides a space to explore theories which inform and enrich our understanding of the aesthetic aspect of organizing and organizations. We realize that the term itself, Organizational Aesthetics, lives at the intersection of many different theoretical bodies; including art history, literary criticism, philosophy of aesthetics, art therapy, critical theory, as well as theories associated with art forms such dance, theatre, music, poetry, fine art and craft. We are particularly interested in explorations of the interplay between the insights afforded by such theoretical perspectives and the experience of organizational aesthetics, as well as the way in which the lived reality of aesthetics within organizations can inform theory.
  *   Practice – The Practice section of Organizational Aesthetics offers a space for accounts of practice at the intersection of art and organization – stories from the field, from inside organizations that offer more of a practitioner focus. While the journal’s Theory section provides a space to explore the theories which inform and enrich our understanding of the aesthetic aspect of organizing and organizations, the Practice section creates a space for the practitioner to illuminate how the arts are actually being engaged in organizations and in the act of organizing. Our intention is that these two, often dichotomized scholarly pursuits of theory and practice, will not be further differentiated. Rather, we hope that a third space of praxis might emerge – a space where we can explore the process by which a theory is enacted or practiced. Organizational Aesthetics will uniquely offer space, for theory and practice to maintain their unique identities; while at the same time, acknowledging what they share in common – the praxis of organizational aesthetics.
  *   Art – This includes works of art that are informed by organizations including poems, short stories, and photo reproductions of works. This might be (but doesn’t have to be) thought of as art as research. We are also keen to receive submissions that offer critical commentary on art exhibitions, live performances and other artistic expressions that somehow impact on the way we conceive of the practice of organizing. These submissions need not be aligned directly to formal organizations but may also include community projects and an assessment of the importance of those events or projects to that community. Thus we aim to link art in its widest sense with organizing in all its facets and manifestations. Submitted works or reproductions will require either an artist statement or commentary to accompany the submission.
  *   Reviews – This includes reviews of books, responses to previously published articles, and commentary on Organizational Aesthetics-related conferences and gatherings. We publish reviews on books that deal directly with aesthetics in organizations, and reviews of books that appear in adjacent fields but that we deem of interest to our readers. Further, we invite responses to the articles that are published in Organizational Aesthetics, and to aesthetics-related articles and special issues published elsewhere. Finally, we invite generative descriptions, evaluation, and commentary on conference and seminar activities that deal directly or indirectly with organizational aesthetics. It is our hope that the Reviews section will be a place for finding the unusual and surprising in reflecting the observations, voices and ideas of our readers.
Organizational Aesthetics is an online, open-source journal because we wish to be as inclusive as possible. Our hope is to create a place that is as widely accessible as possible for all who are interested in the ideas, stories, and conversations that we seek to enable with the journal. We hope to create a community where we share our thinking and experiences about the aesthetic side of organizational life as a contribution to advancing the theory and practice of organizational aesthetics.
Editorial Team

·       Editor-in-Chief: Steven S. Taylor, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

·       Theory Section Editor: Donna Ladkin, Cranfield University

·       Practice Section Editor: Nick Nissley, Cincinnati State Community College

·       Art Section Editor: Ralph Bathurst, Massey University

·       Reviews Section Editor: Stefan Meisiek, Copenhagen Business School

We're accepting submission, now!

Best regards,

Steve

Steven S. Taylor, PhD
Editor-in-Chief
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www.organizationalaesthetics.org