Are.na Annual, “gifting guide,” holiday reading, and more
Hi,
We’re almost there, almost at the end of the year. Calendars are schemes for timekeeping and there are many schemes, but it’s nice to have something to orient oneself against.
Where we are it’s dark early, fairly cold, and being inside feels correct. We’re listening to Taurian Shade by Hesaitix.
How is the end of your year feeling?
Are.na Annual 2025 available for purchase
This year’s Are.na Annual is here, and the theme is “document,” as in to record, to provide information or support, an official paper, a piece of evidence, a form of proof. This is the sixth (!) edition of our printed book series that collects writing by the people on Are.na, with each piece beginning with an Are.na channel.
Lu Heintz designed the cover, which is perfect. Leslie Liu designed the interior, as always. And Michelle Santiago Cortés edited the book alongside Meg Miller this year, lending a major hand in shaping it. We are very proud of this book and everyone involved — find the full list of our brilliant contributors here.
Last week, we celebrated the release with a party at HEART, Maya Man’s new artist space in New York. Here’s some photos as proof. Was so fun <3.
We sold out at the event — and again at Rhizome’s super ultimate internet day — but you can still buy the book in the Are.na store.
Supporter Tier
And as a reminder, if you’re Premium and on the Supporter tier, the Annual is free. The Supporter tier gives a little extra to help us maintain Are.na and in return you get early access to features, free Are.na Annuals, bi-annual investor reports, Supporter-only Discord channels and more. To redeem your free book as a Supporter, go to Settings > Perks for the code.
Upgrade to Supporter, get your free Are.na Annual
New on Are.na Editorial
We published two pieces from the Annual on Are.na Editorial, to give you an idea of what’s inside. For the overview, see the editor’s letter by Meg and Michelle.
And for a beautiful meditation on the draft as document — a living document, a “document documenting” — read poet Sharon Neema’s essay “untitled6.docx.”
“The draft is a threshing ground,” Sharon writes. “Drafts sift out the clunky and heavy-handed, the unresolved, and the rudimentary to expel this as waste.”
Gifting Guide
We also published our own “gifting guide” by Laurel Schwulst — a guide to thinking about “gift” as a verb, and an Are.na channel as a gift.
The piece is a precursor to a workshop Laurel is holding on Saturday December 21 at 1pm EST. The “Channel as a Gift” workshop will explore what makes a good gift, and how we can transmit this digitally. We’ll compile private Are.na channels (collection of things) as a gift for someone specific, and discuss various formats and starting points for digital gifting.
The workshop is currently full, but the guide is for all (and especially for those who are looking for last minute gifts).
Are.na gift card
Speaking of last minute gifts, the gift of Are.na Premium might be a nice gesture, and a gift that will keep giving for the next 12 months. Unlimited blocks, access to the Are.na Discord, and a 20% discount on any item in our store — all with a customizable (digital) gift card.
Holiday reading
And finally, a look back at 10 pieces we published this year, in case you need something to read over break:
Chia Amisola on domain naming
If names are nothing and naming is everything, the website is the perfect medium in which I carve space, take space, and make space.
Claire L Evans on the endless entanglement of our biological reality
What’s happening in the natural world is more computationally efficient, inventive, and resilient than anything we could create from silicon.
Yatú Espinosa on designing environments for continual learning
At the end of the month, we thought, “did we just create an educational institution?” Then we looked at each other like “who told us we didn’t?”
alphonse f on digital futures, erasure poetry, and Brian Eno
“The future will be like perfume,” Eno prophesied, and it is.
Maya Man on the I’m Feeling Lucky Button (RIP)
She embraced the idea of luck and chance. She affirmed a belief in software’s ability to take you somewhere new by proposing just one unexpected thing.
Kalli Mathios on cataloging every sound in the world
I wanted people to know that libraries hold more than books. At the same time, I wanted to keep the definition of a library as loose as possible.
Alice Otieno on music as a lifeline
I think sound best presents itself as an aid in connecting us to the divine.
Spencer Chang on gathering, archiving, and “communal computing”
Collecting should simply be a way to archive what your body already tells you is important. The motivation should come from within.
Amelia K on the difference between arson and arsenic.
I am gentler now because I lived past the need to be ungentle. It remains to be seen if this is a blessing or a curse.
Daniela Bologna on storytelling as gift, storytelling as currency
What does it mean to be a messenger, to have a message?
Roadmap
As always, you can check out our roadmap page which goes into the features we're building, our long-term goals, and our current numbers.
Take care, keep looking out for one another, and have a restful end-of-year. See you on the other side.
The Are.na Team