decomp- to repurpose the salvage

 [Founded in 2004]

[Land Acknowledgement]

Though our contributors are situated all over the globe, decomp journal was reestablished and currently situated on the unceded, traditional and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəyəm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

As we continue to make space for art and literature on the margins, we must consistently reflect on the implications of our presence here on unceded Indigenous land and our contributions to the settler-colonial structure. Although this publication exists online, the work we do does not.  We are committed to thinking critically about the implications of the digital on the material. We express our gratitude and solidarity to the Indigenous peoples and communities who have and continue to steward this land, protect water and foster community. Without which, our work could not exist. We recognize that a land acknowledgement does not equal decolonization, but see this journal as an opportunity to uplift the multiplicity of Indigenous voices, not just here on Coast Salish lands, but internationally.

[who we are]

decomp journal is a literary and multimedia journal grounded in social justice that is committed to curating art from marginalized communities.We are an in-house journal for the Social Justice Institute at the University of British Columbia.

[what we do]

We seek to bring complexity and messiness to the sanitized, hierarchical house of our institutions, making solidarity and community as we imagine new homes. We uplift art that reclaims, resists, and refuses, through an engaged editorial process that builds relationships of reciprocity, responsibility, and mutual respect.

We offer professional roles in editing, curation, writing, and managing, while cultivating an ethos of care, and working against the exploitative and extractive nature of institutions. Our editorial board consists of supporters and allies, while major creative decisions are made by students. By carving out decomp as a community space, we seek to make the editorial process one of ongoing transformation that is accountable and responsive to community needs.

[how we do it]

We invite submissions of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and art/media. Every issue will feature zines curated by a guest editor exploring pressing and contemporary themes and issues.