Sixty Inches From Center

What Sixty Inches From Center does

Sixty Inches From Center is a worker-led nonprofit arts publishing platform founded in 2010 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It produces editorial content including interviews, essays, reviews, photo essays, literary works, and bilingual (English/Spanish) articles covering Chicago and Midwest artists, art criticism, archival practice, and cultural memory work. The organization operates a portfolio of programs including the Chicago Archives + Artists Project, Find & Seek, Sixty Lit, Sixty Collective, Midwest Satellites, Regional Resource Lists, and the Chicago Arts Census, with a stated focus on Indigenous, trans, queer, diasporic, and disabled artists and arts workers.

The underlying technology is a WordPress-based publishing website integrated with Mailchimp for newsletter distribution, plus third-party payment processors (PayPal and Patreon) for donations. The organization distributes free editorial content directly via its website, email newsletter, and social media channels (Instagram, Bluesky, Threads, LinkedIn), and through a network of nine regional partner organizations that host fellows and critics-in-residence across the Midwest under the Sixty Regional initiative.

Revenue is generated through individual donations via PayPal and Patreon and foundation grants, with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation named as the primary funder of the Sixty Regional program supporting the 2026 Midwest Arts Writers Fellowship and Critics-in-Residence Program. The organization employs 11-50 staff and operates with distributed, worker-led governance under co-editors Maria Isabelle Carlos and Aricka Foreman. No paid products, pricing models, or commercial customer base exist; the audience consists of Midwest artists, arts writers, archivists, and cultural workers served at no cost.

Name

Sixty Inches From Center

Legal name

Sixty Inches From Center NFP

Website

https://sixtyinchesfromcenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sixty Inches From Center is a Chicago-based worker-led nonprofit publishing platform producing editorial content, fellowships, and archival projects about Midwest artists, writers, and cultural workers, funded by donations and foundation grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts and Culture Media

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Long-Form Writing & Article Platforms (MPACAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN), Newsletter Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAA)

Keywords

• Arts publishing platform
• Arts criticism writing
• Arts writer fellowships
• Artist archival practice
• Midwest cultural journalism

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Support: The organization accepts donations through PayPal and Patreon, redirecting to third-party payment processors. Support is sought from the public through their 'Support Our Work' initiative.
2. Foundation Grants: Sixty receives funding from foundations such as The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support regional programs including the Midwest Arts Writers Fellowship and Critics-in-Residence Program.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sixty Inches From Center operates a worker-led nonprofit publishing platform that produces collaborative editorial projects, fellowships, residencies, and community-building programs covering artists, archival practice, art history, and culture in Chicago and the Midwest. It distributes free editorial content including interviews, essays, reviews, photo essays, literary works, and bilingual (English/Spanish) articles, alongside structured programs such as the Chicago Archives + Artists Project, Sixty Regional, the Midwest Arts Writers Fellowship, and the Critics-in-Residence Program.

Product overview

Sixty Inches From Center is a worker-led publishing platform that produces collaborative projects about artists, archival practice, art history, and culture in Chicago and the Midwest. The platform operates as a unified publishing system with several interconnected programs and content verticals. The core publishing platform publishes editorial content across multiple categories (interviews, essays, reviews, photo essays, literature, bilingual content). Supporting the core platform are major initiatives including the Chicago Archives + Artists Project (which connects archivists and artists), Sixty Regional (a region-wide fellowship and residency expansion initiative), the Midwest Arts Writers Fellowship, and the Critics-in-Residence Program. Additional content verticals include Sixty Lit (literary content), Sixty Bilingual (bilingual publications), and Art Picks (event curation). The organization also operates advocacy programs including Find & Seek (community building), Regional Resource Lists (resource compilation), and Diamond in the Back (archival preservation). Together these components form an integrated media organization focused on arts writing, archival practice, and community building across the Midwest.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sixty Regional: Region-wide initiative expanding the organization's Critic-in-Residence and Midwest Arts Writers Fellowship Programs across multiple Midwest cities including Kansas City, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Detroit, Omaha, South Dakota, and St. Louis.
• Chicago Archives + Artists Project
• Find & Seek
• Sixty Collective
• Midwest Satellites
• Chicago Arts Census
• Sixty Lit

Products and services

• Sixty Inches From Center Publishing Platform Worker-led editorial publishing platform producing articles, interviews, essays, reviews, photo essays, and literary content about artists, archival practice, art history, and culture in Chicago and the Midwest, freely accessible to the public.
• Chicago Archives + Artists Project (CA+AP)

Quantifiable outcome

• 2026 cohort includes 5 Midwest Arts Writers Fellows and 9 Critics-in-Residence hosted across 9 regional partner organizations

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• B-REAL AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026A freedom school and abolitionist education program for visionary Black high schoolers and adults in Missouri and Kansas, affiliated with The Kansas City Defender. Hosts Casha Gloria Mills as a Midwest Arts Writers Fellow for 2026.
• The Kansas City DefendercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026A Black-led, Abolitionist news outlet and power-building organization. Co-hosts Midwest Arts Writers Fellows with B-REAL Academy, focusing on writers covering Indigenous, trans, queer, diasporic, and disabled artists in Kansas City, MO.
• Cactus ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026A queer-owned, multi-disciplinary arts and performance space in Milwaukee, WI, operating for nearly 30 years. Hosts writer Nayeli Portillo as a 2026 Midwest Arts Writers Fellow.
• THE CR8TV HOUSEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Founded in 2023 by artist Symphony Swan Zawadi in a nearly century-old home in Milwaukee. Hosts writer Mia Rimmer as 2026 Curatorial Resident and Midwest Arts Writers Fellow.
• ATNSC: Center for Healing and Creative LeadershipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026An artist-led incubator, retreat, residency, research and exhibition space in Cleveland, Ohio's historic Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood. Hosts writers Bri Robinson (Visiting Critic) and Shelli Reeves (Local Critic) for the 2026 Critics-in-Residence Program.
• BULK SpacecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026A community-centered arts organization in Detroit, MI founded in 2017, committed to experimental and interdisciplinary practice with a Media Lab in Detroit's North End. Hosts writers Aaliyah Christina and Danielle Francisca for the 2026 Critics-in-Residence Program.
• Bemis Center for Contemporary ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Located in Omaha, Nebraska, the center facilitates contemporary art creation, presentation, and understanding through an international residency program. Hosts Julia Arredondo (Visiting Critic) and Amber Eve Anderson (Local Critic) for 2026.
• First Peoples Fund / Oglala Lakota ArtspacecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026First Peoples Fund operates Oglala Lakota Artspace on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Kyle, South Dakota. The facility provides culturally-based workshops and artist-in-residence programs. Hosts writer Dr. Jessica R. Metcalfe for the 2026 Critics-in-Residence Program.
• The LuminarycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026An expansive platform for art, thought and action in St. Louis, MO, supporting exceptional art engaging pressing issues of the present through exhibitions, residencies, performances, publications and gatherings. Hosts Xiao Faria daCunha and Camryn Daniels for 2026.
• Chicago Archives + Artists Project (CA+AP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA collaborative initiative that connects archivists and artists to reimagine futures and histories. Sixty publishes interviews and profiles of paired archivists and artists, documenting archival work and community memory projects.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Burnaway: An Atlanta-based nonprofit publication covering contemporary art across the American South. Comparable as a regionally focused, nonprofit arts criticism platform serving artists and writers outside the major coastal art centers.
• Temporary Art Review: A Chicago-based online publication focused on contemporary art criticism, exhibitions, and artist interviews. Highly comparable as a nonprofit-leaning, editorial-first arts writing platform serving a similar audience of artists, writers, and curators.
• Hyperallergic: A nonprofit digital arts publication covering contemporary art, culture, and politics with a similar editorial-driven, mission-aligned model. Comparable in focus on arts journalism, criticism, and community engagement, though Hyperallergic operates nationally rather than regionally.
• NewCity: A Chicago-focused arts and culture magazine covering visual arts, music, film, and performance. Comparable as a Chicago arts publication serving a similar Midwest audience, though operating with a more traditional magazine model.
• The Brooklyn Rail: A nonprofit journal of arts, culture, and politics featuring criticism, interviews, and essays. Comparable as a nonprofit arts publication with a mission-driven editorial model, though serving a New York-centered audience.
• Art Papers: A nonprofit arts publication producing criticism and essays on contemporary art, with a print and digital presence. Comparable as a mission-driven arts journalism outlet, though with a national/international scope rather than regional.
• Bad at Sports: A Chicago-based contemporary art podcast and publication network covering visual arts. Directly comparable as a Chicago-rooted, artist-driven platform producing criticism and interviews on Midwest and national contemporary art.
• Chicago Archives + Artists Project: A collaborative initiative connecting archivists and artists to reimagine futures and histories, operated as a sub-program of Sixty Inches From Center. Directly comparable as an arts-archival publishing initiative in the Chicago region.

Broad incumbents

• Chicago Reader: A long-running Chicago alt-weekly with extensive arts and culture coverage. Overlaps with Sixty in covering Chicago arts criticism and community storytelling, but operates as a broad general-interest publication rather than a specialized arts platform.
• Frieze: A major global arts publication covering contemporary art criticism and news. Overlaps with Sixty in the arts journalism space but operates at significantly larger commercial scale and broader geographic scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fromthecenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sixty-inches-from-center
• Instagraminstagram.com/sixtyinchesfromcenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/SixtyInchesFromCenter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sixty Inches From Center