The Drift Partners with David Zwirner

On September 28, 2022, The Drift, a two-year-old literary magazine that was recently described as “the lit mag of the moment” by The New York Times, announced its new partnership with David Zwirner. The gallery is making a multi-year commitment to support the nonprofit magazine, becoming its lead funder in a new partnership that will allow The Drift to grow and expand while maintaining editorial independence. Beginning in Spring 2023, David Zwirner will also host an annual gala for the magazine. 

With this support, The Drift will be able to plan years ahead, embark on more ambitious projects, and establish a secure, sustainable future as a platform for new voices and ideas. Launched as a digital quarterly in June 2020 by co-editors and co-founders Kiara Barrow and Rebecca Panovka, the magazine of culture, literature, and politics began printing in fall 2021 and now produces three print and digital issues annually, with hundreds of thousands of readers online and a rapidly growing print audience. 

In June, The Drift celebrated its two-year launch anniversary with a fundraising cocktail event at David Zwirner’s 69th Street gallery. The party featured remarks by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Hilton Als, who has curated acclaimed exhibitions for David Zwirner, and Joshua Cohen, winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. The event marked the beginning of a collaborative relationship between the gallery and the magazine, now formalized by this partnership. 

“We’ve long been admirers of David Zwirner’s incredible roster of artists, innovative programming, and ambitious, multifaceted publishing projects,” says Barrow. Adds Panovka, “Until now, The Drift has been operating on a small budget. This partnership will allow us to make the magazine more sustainable, and continue to provide a platform for new voices and fresh ideas for many years to come.”

Lucas Zwirner adds, “I came to know The Drift in 2020, as a contributor to their second issue, and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. At David Zwirner, we are committed to fostering an ecosystem of dialogue and criticism—whether through our exhibitions, publications, programming, and podcasts, or by supporting like-minded organizations. Magazines like The Drift are essential to a healthy culture of discourse, and we are honored to be able to support their mission of bringing young voices and innovative ideas to the fore.”

The Drift will explore content collaborations with the gallery, beginning with its fall 2022 issue, which will feature an interview with the artist Barbara Kruger. Details on the annual gala will be released in early 2023.

Learn more at thedriftmag.com.

Cover image: Issue 7 of The Drift. Courtesy The Drift, 2022.