An Art Magazine? In This Economy?

In April, a friend texted me to ask if I was planning to go to Cultured magazine’s “CULT100” party and, if not, whether I wanted to. “No” and “no,” I replied, mostly because I had no idea what Cultured was. A few nights later, my Instagram feed was flooded with pictures from the party, which was held at the Guggenheim a few days before the Met Gala and attended by a mix of buzzy actors, comedians, designers, writers, artists, and art-adjacent personalities. The party celebrated Cultured’s second annual “CULT100” list, a selection of those “actively shaping and changing our culture in real time,” ranging from celebrities like Walton Goggins and Sarah Jessica Parker (both in attendance) to newly discovered artists. The event included a monologue by Saturday Night Live’s Chloe Fineman, a live version of Kareem Rahma’s Subway Takes, and a reading by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It was, in other words, a powerhouse showing for a magazine that didn’t even register a few years ago.