ABOUT
Now past its centenary year, Avenue is compiled by a dedicated student editorial team under the support of the Sydney Arts Students’ Society (SASS), Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), and the University of Sydney Union (USU).
The journal began publication as the Arts Journal of the University of Sydney, initially published three times a year by the Sydney University Arts Society (SUAS). In 1937 the journal was renamed Candide for two issues, and became ARNA in 1938. This name, according to the editorial in the 1938 edition, was taken from an unspecified Aboriginal language, likely without permission or consultation. The name went largely unquestioned, as ‘ARNA’ went in and out of production. The journal ceased publication in 1974, before starting up again in 2008.
Having discovered the troubled origins of the journal name in 2022 through a 2018 blog post written on the history of the journal, SASS believes it is imperative that we offer our sincerest apologies, both publicly and directly to the peoples from whom it was stolen.
Therefore, the 2022 team decided to rename the Journal, AVENUE. AVENUE is reminiscent of Eastern Ave, where student life teems and flourishes. It also refers to avenues of thought, pathways which our minds and creativity can wander down and explore. Finally, it is a road forward, towards a future journal which is inclusive down to every last word, a road where we can keep our past in the rear-view mirror, never forgetting, and always doing better.
Previous notable contributors and editors include Les Murray, Lex Banning, Dorothea MacKellar, Judith Wright, Robert Hughes, Clive James, Harry Hooton, John Bell, Harold Stewart, and Geoffrey Lehmann. More than a hundred years on from the journal’s inception, we remain proud to print the work of aspiring poets, artists, and story-tellers.
AVENUE’s editorial staff consider it both a pleasure and a privilege to work so closely with budding student creatives. All of our editors, contributors, and designers are unpaid. We rely solely on university funding and the loving labour of our volunteers for AVENUE’s survival. Please browse thoughtfully, enjoy the vast talent of our contributors, and maybe even purchase a copy for yourself.
