Initiated by CPW founders Michael Feinberg and Howard Greenberg in 1979, the Center Quarterly was first conceived as an occasional publication that would broaden their efforts to champion photography as a fine art form beyond the village of Woodstock. The initial foldout brochure in black-and-white blossomed over 100 issues into a 60-page full-color publication with an international readership.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the Center Quarterly served as a platform for critical dialogues engaging not only contemporary photography but also film, video, and photo-based installation art, often centered around CPW exhibitions. Essays often addressed photography in relation to social issues around race, gender, feminism, sexual identity, cultural politics, and artists from underrepresented communities. In addition, Center Quarterly published artist portfolios and features on CPW’s numerous artists-in-residence. Among the many writers who contributed to the Center Quarterly were A.D. Coleman, W. M. Hunt, Catherine Lord, Ellen K. Levy, Carlo McCormick, Sandra S. Phillips, and Fred Ritchin. Over the course of its history, the Center Quarterly was managed by three primary editors: Feinberg and Greenberg supervised CQ from 1979 to 1982; CPW Associate Director Kathleen Kenyon guided CQ from 1982 to 2003; and CPW Executive Director Ariel Shanberg oversaw CQ from 2003 to 2010.
