Last night, news broke that Artforum’s editor-in-chief of more than seven years, Michelle Kuo, was stepping down. The news came a day after reports of women alleging sexual harassment by Artforum publisher Knight Landesman, who resigned yesterday after 35 years at the company. Artforum.com’s editor, David Velasco, who has been with the publication since 2005, has been named as her replacement.
Today, Kuo provided the following statement to ARTnews via email:
Last week, on October 18, I resigned from my position as Editor of Artforum. I resigned because I felt that, in light of the troubling allegations surrounding one of our publishers, I could no longer serve as a public representative of Artforum. We need to make the art world a more equitable, just, and safe place for women at all levels. And that can only be achieved when organizations and communities are bound by shared trust, honesty, and accountability. Though I may continue to advise the magazine through its transition, my final date as an employee at the magazine was today. I wish the very best to the staff of the magazine.