What is YUJA?
The Yeshiva University Journal of Arts (YUJA) is Yeshiva University’s student-run online publication dedicated to giving a voice to YU’s diverse creative community. Our goal is to foster a creative community on campus, and to encourage artistic expression. This is achieved through events such as museum visits and workshops and in our online journal issues, which are released three times a semester. In our online issues, we showcase creative works from YU students including fine art, photography, writing, film, and other creative disciplines, curated by our Section Editors.
What types of submissions does YUJA accept?
YUJA prides itself in the diverse range of submissions it accepts. Our featured categories are design, fiction, film, fine arts, music, non-fiction, performing arts, photography, and poetry. If you think your submission doesn’t fit into any of those categories you can still submit it and we’ll decide where to put it. We also feature articles on the YUJA Blog.
What is the YUJA Blog?
The YUJA Blog is the place where, rather than featuring creative works, we write about creative works. This includes articles such as explorations of a certain artist/author/etc. or art movement, a review of a play or museum exhibition, literary criticism, personal reflections, analysis of a poem, and the like. The blog features articles from the Editor in Chief, Managing Editor, Section Editors, as well as other students and faculty. The goal is to curate a diverse collection of articles about art.
How does YUJA decide which submissions to feature?
We receive a lot of great submissions and have to make difficult decisions about what we have the space to feature. Once your piece is submitted, the relevant Section Editor reviews it. After each work has been reviewed by the Section Editor, the other Section Editors are encouraged to respond to it. This is to ensure that each piece is assessed from multiple perspectives. After this entire process, the Section Editor chooses their favorites from the section, taking into account what others have said. Then, the Editor in Chief and Managing Editor go through the selected works and curate the final issue. In general, we are seeking to curate works that are diverse in the perspective they provide, as well as to produce a complete issue that feels cohesive. Of course, we are not trying to be an authority on what is and isn’t “good art.”
Why wasn’t my submission chosen?
Unfortunately, due to the high volume of submissions, we cannot feature every submitted work. In general works are included based on how well they fit with other works, ultimately seeking a careful balance between variety and cohesion. Just because your work does not make it into the issue, it does not mean that we didn’t like it, or that it wasn’t “good.” There’s always going to be a measure of subjectivity in the selection process, but we try to limit that by having all Section Editors give input on all submissions. Please don’t be discouraged by your not having been selected. We encourage you to continue creating and continue submitting.
Should I resubmit my work if it wasn’t chosen?
No. If your work was not featured in one issue, it may be featured in the next issue. We review all past submitted works when curating the issues. This is because any particular work may be of extreme artistic merit, but for whatever reason did not fit with the general theme or feel of that issue.
What happens to my piece once it is featured?
By submitting your piece you give YUJA permission to feature it on our site, should we choose to. However, you remain the owner of the work, and if you decide at any point that you’d like your piece removed, please let us know by emailing us at yeshivaarts@gmail.com and we’ll comply.
Will there be a print issue of YUJA this year?
As of now, there are no plans for a print edition of YUJA as there has been in past years (you can access old print issues here). This is because putting together a print issue requires considerable time and resources, and given that everything has gone digital because of COVID-19, we feel sticking to an online format will allow these works to be shared with the most amount of people.
How can I keep up with what YUJA is up to?
To keep up with us you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and regularly check your YU email for announcements and updates. We’ll also post updates on the website. You can reach out to us by email at yeshivaarts@gmail.com.
What do you guys have against Wasabi?
That is a closely guarded secret that can be shared with no one.
Yeshiva University Journal of the Arts 