Frequency Quarterly Year founded Fall 2007 Country United States | Circulation 2,500 First issue Spring 2008 Based in Isla Vista, California | |
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WORD Magazine is an Isla Vista, California quarterly arts and culture magazine published by students through an Isla Vista Arts course at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Partnered with the university's Office of Student Life, the student-run magazine highlights Isla Vista music, arts, and local interests and includes a daily Isla Vista events calendar. It also has photography and recipes. WORD is a free publication, distributed in newsstands in front of local businesses in Isla Vista, as well as at the WORD bench.
History
WORD was started in Fall 2007 when UCSB art professor, Kim Yasuda, discovered a copy of Isla Vista magazine I.V. Lifestyle, which depicted local life with sexist images and as a culture preoccupied with alcohol binging. Spurred by what she found to be an inaccurate representation of Isla Vista living, Yasuda established WORD with the help of Isla Vista Arts' Acting Director, Ellen Anderson, and Santa Barbara Independent longtime contributor D.J. Palladino as a way to redefine misconceptions of Isla Vista culture. By its second issue in Winter 2008, the magazine had earned the title of “Most Creative UCSB Organization” by the UCSB Office of Student Life. Palladino is an advisor to the project.
In 2012 and 2013, WORD hosted a public music festival in Isla Vista to promote local art and culture.