One of Topical Cream’s marquee initiatives to support new modalities for art criticism, the Editor-in-Residence program was developed in response to the urgent need for institutional support for criticism and experimental journalism in 2021. The organization’s commitment to this cause has never been stronger. Nominations for the residency were solicited from Topical Cream’s Board of Directors and advisors. Haynes is the fourth high-profile Editor-in-Residence at Topical Cream, succeeding MoMA PS1 Director of Curatorial Affairs Ruba Katrib for (2023) and Swiss Institute’s Laura McLean-Ferris in (2022). 

“There are fewer and fewer outlets for critical art voices that are neither speculative nor indifferent. Topical Cream is a perfect oddity that creates space for dissent, new ideas, and old arguments, while shirking the trends of widely circulated criticism. Accepting this invitation to be the 2024 Editor-in-Residence at Topical Cream—an entity that grounds itself in presenting and supporting marginalized voices—was never a question and always an honor. I’m excited to work with and share a star lineup of amazing and talented voices, some I have long-admired and others I’ve newly discovered,” said Ebony L. Haynes, Topical Cream’s 2024 Editor-in-Residence (she/her).

“After steadfastly championing the arts community for a full decade, Topical Cream remains resolute in its mission to foreground the collective concerns of women and gender non-conforming contemporary artists and intellectuals like no other organization. We are immensely proud of our community and collective progress, yet the stark inequality in genuine support for women and gender non-conforming artists and art critics cannot be ignored,” emphasized Topical Cream Founder and Director Lyndsy Welgos (she/her). In an era where free arts journalism appears to be gradually succumbing to thinly veiled corporate interests, the significance of fostering feminist discourse without paywalls has become increasingly paramount. We are thrilled to welcome Ebony L. Haynes as our 2024 Editor-in-Residence. Ebony’s reputation and respect among her peers speaks for itself. 

ABOUT EBONY L. HAYNES
Ebony L. Haynes is a writer and curator from Toronto, Canada. She is presently based in New York where she is Senior Director at David Zwirner and leads the gallery’s 52 Walker space in Tribeca. Haynes is responsible for many critically acclaimed exhibitions such as Kandis Williams: A Line; Tiona Nekkia McClodden: MASK / CONCEAL / CARRY; Bob Thompson: So let us all be citizens; Gordon Matta-Clark & Pope.L: Impossible Failures; Invisible Man; EBSPLOITATION; and The Worst Witch. Haynes is the co-curator of the 2024 Triennial at MOCA Toronto. Previously she held positions as curator for the inaugural Fine Arts MFA exhibition for first-year students at The Rhode Island School of Design, Providence; visiting curator and critic at the Yale School of Art in the Painting and Printmaking program; as well as director at Martos Gallery, New York, and Shoot The Lobster, New York and Los Angeles. Haynes sits on the boards of Artists Space, New York and the New Art Dealers Alliance. She has participated in numerous public talks and symposiums at various institutions, including the Brooklyn Museum, New York, and the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and has contributed her writing to multiple catalogues and publications. She also runs Black Art Sessions, an online “school” that offers free professional practice classes to Black students worldwide

ABOUT TOPICAL CREAM Topical Cream is a ground-breaking New York-based arts organization exclusively dedicated to elevating the work of women and gender non-conforming contemporary artists through public programming and digital publishing. Controversial when first launched in 2013 as an online magazine countering art media’s problematic portrayal of female-identifying contemporary artists, Topical Cream is now one of the most respected platforms for art criticism and editorial content internationally. Topical Cream has evolved into an ecosystem and now hosts programs including The Art Writing Mentorship Program, which supports system-impacted youth, The high-profile Editor-in-Residence program founded in 2021, and original video content with the Rx Studio video series. Topical Cream is the standard and collective record of women and gender non-conforming voices in contemporary art.