The Beyond Thought Creative Arts Journal, founded by UNLV students and publishing the works of over 100 students to date, released its seventh issue in December 2023 and is now awaiting submissions for its eighth issue, Spring 2024.
The creative arts journal was established by UNLV students in 2020, and since then, it has been publishing the artwork of students from both UNLV and across the country, releasing one issue each semester.
The theme of the latest published issue of the journal, Fall 2023, was Cyberpunk: The Dystopian and the Utopian, featuring the works of 18 students in various genres such as multimedia, fiction, 2D-3D and poetry.
Joshua Harris, one of the UNLV students featured in the latest issue of the magazine, talks about how he heard about the journal, “I learned about the Beyond Thought Journal originally through my peers and my instructor Caralea Cole in my ART 135 class almost two years ago. Some of my peers had mentioned that they were submitting their work, and others were discussing how they had previously been accepted.”
Harris expresses that he was drawn to the magazine because it was the first time he had seen something like it at UNLV. He adds, “I found it very interesting that people I know had their work submitted, and was impressed on how accessible it was to the students of UNLV.”
In his written interview, Harris describes his photograph series titled “Where Rainbows Never Die,” which was published in the last issue of the journal, as follows: “My work was a body of photographs I took shortly after one of my friends from high-school died, and it was essentially my personal belief/ visual representation of what happens after death or the journey of what happens during/after death and what a person experiences.”
Later, he shares how he felt when he heard that his art had been selected for the journal, “I was incredibly excited when I had learned that my work had been accepted into the Beyond Thought Journal, as this was something I had hoped I would be in when I had the proper work to submit.”
Harris also mentions that the submission process, which can be made through either the journal’s website or through the submission form, was very easy, and he explains why he believes that Beyond Thought or similar journals are important: “I think that these journals and other similar outlets have very deep significance to emerging artists, as it is an accessible way for a person to display their work and disseminate it to a mass of people who take interest in such work. I also believe that it helps a person build their resume and could potentially help them greatly in their future artistic endeavors!”
Beyond Thought Journal has announced that submissions for its upcoming issue, Spring 2024, began on Feb. 1 and revealed that the theme for the new issue is Renaissance.
The journal is waiting for written, audio and visual works from all students who are interested in art. Additionally, the journal also invites anyone interested in art and publishing to become part of the team. For more information about submissions and Beyond Thought, you can visit the journal’s website at https://www.beyondthoughtjournal.com/.
