Creative risk

I'm excited to welcome you to the inaugural issue of Arcs, 001 Autumn 2025. Arcs is a new quarterly online journal of creative works celebrating different forms of creativity from across my friends. I wanted to start this project to make visible and synchronize the risky work of making something new. Creative risk is real, a whole weekend preparing, working, starting over, preparing more, investing more time. You approach the slot machine and pull the arm, will you be satisfied or disappointed? Why do it? Personally I feel the act and the distribution of the result is invaluable, it holds the possibility of learning something more about yourself, about reality or helping others see something new, it's a risk worth taking. Four times a year we'll pursue an Arc and an issue will be released collecting work from contributors over the prior three months. The next issue will be 002 Winter 2026 covering work from December, January and February.

When bringing this issue together I found myself making my way from the orbit of one piece to another dwelling for a while at each place. Our contributors chart a course for us through observations of the everyday to unique places on the planet and within ourselves. The works span performance, literature, essay and physical objects. I'm struck by one essay from Isaac Hodes on the value of surprise. In the reading of this issue I think that value rings true.

If you find any of the work inspiring or you want to share anything about this issue send me an email and I'd be happy to collect these for a section in the next one.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this first issue, it was a pleasure for me to see the breadth of work from my amazing friends, it's an honor to be a friend to those who are adding surprise to this world.

Yours truly,

Ben Miles