Revolutionary Publishing?

DM: Shoebox Magazine is a publication that started operating out of Cairo, Egypt, in 2023^* and explores true inclusivity and the destruction of elitist structures. What’s your idea of revolutionising publishing?

DF: We used to operate out of Cairo but right now we’re in The Netherlands. The project has in many ways been an extension of myself and my own practice and research. The goal has always been to reach beyond that and to open it up as a platform beyond the specific likes and dislikes of the editor(s), but that’s difficult to do. 

I don’t know if Shoebox is a revolutionary publication, but we are, I am, constantly trying to find the balance between ‘homeliness’ and accessibility, while still letting it evolve into something new or more professional – for lack of a better word. One thing that is super inspiring is looking at other historical publications and what they’ve done and aimed for. Often, they’ve focused on a specific movement or thought. But Shoebox is not really trying to do that; it’s a bit of everything and that’s the whole point. The idea is to be as transparent as possible, and that’s also been the attempt with the editor’s introduction that I’ve written to each issue. What excites me with Shoebox is that there are no clear boundaries yet. 

DM: As an unestablished writer myself I’m always on the lookout for publications to which I can contribute. The publication landscape today is broad but at the same time I find very few examples to which I feel welcomed and that I am interested in. What was your aim with starting Shoebox Magazine and adding a new publication to this world?

DF: I had the exact same feeling – still do – and decided enough was enough. When studying fine art, the one thing you’re taught is that if you want to do something, or actually get an education for yourself, you just have to start doing it. At the art academies I’ve attended, no one has ever told me what to do and no deadlines were set by anyone else besides myself. It’s been a good education, and since I’ve often felt quite lost in the so-called art world and magazines and whathaveyous, I decided to try and create the space I was looking for myself.

DM: One of my own presumptions about exclusivity and curating is that it’s necessary for something to have a clear direction on what it’s trying to do. But somehow Shoebox proves me wrong, specifically Shoebox #3, which includes all the submissions from the open call but still somehow manages to touch upon something. How do you think Shoebox navigates ideas of selection and inclusion? 

DF: It’s a difficult one because you have to realise that you’re handling someone else’s hard work and commitment. It’s not always easy, especially with Shoebox not being like many other magazines around. That’s also why we suggest in the open calls that contributors take a look at the previous issues to get an idea of what we do. In essence, we are/I am not trying to do more than let the pieces stand on their own. A poem gets a page, an essay gets the pages it needs, an artwork, etc. The curation of each issue is about trying to make each submission speak for itself. 

With the many different pieces in each issue, it’s a matter of trying to take things down a notch. Sometimes I feel that art is put on a very high pedestal, which is fair in some cases, but Shoebox isn’t interested in doing that. What’s important is that there’s always something that a reader can relate to. As a whole, then, these different submissions and people are having a conversation within the magazine. 

However, it’s also not a utopian ‘let’s all be friends’ type of situation. I like to think of it as a way of grasping and holding on to the many different ways that people have of seeing and engaging with the world within a magazine. 

DM: Making the magazine freely accessible via PDFs on the website is one of its most revolutionising components. Thinking about how DIY projects deserve funding and so on, where did this idea of accessible information stem from and how has that played out in the real world? 

DF: Since the magazine has travelled a lot and continues to do so, it is important that the information is out there beyond the individual bookstores or libraries that may have physical copies. It’s also a way of documenting, because so often when reaching out to people they want to know what the magazine is about. Like I said previously, about taking things down a notch, Shoebox doesn’t aim to gatekeep anything. We’re putting in real work but also want to keep the unassuming nature of it – this is it; this is Shoebox. 

So many times you try and manoeuvre across various spaces and you feel excluded for some reason. You’re not cool enough or whatever the case may be. It’s difficult to understand these things if you’re on the inside of a group but we’re trying to tackle it as best we can. One way of doing that is through transparency and in one of the editorial introductions I wrote about that: If Shoebox is an extension of a privileged white man’s education in art academies and through fellowships, can it really be that inclusive?

DM: The magazine manages to include contributions from teens all over the world – from Stockholm (Sweden), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Cairo (Egypt), for example – and invites people to write in whatever language they feel most comfortable. That manages to demonstrate this really cool revolutionising approach. What role do you think cross-border inclusion plays in Shoebox?

DF: It’s important to keep it open, but I try not to advertise Shoebox as a magazine for cross-cultural inclusion because saying that carries a lot of weight. However, it’s important. If we’re trying to create an accessible space yet only accept submissions in English, for example, it closes a lot of other things off. The question is how to reach beyond that, which is what we’re trying to do. Again, it’s the transparency and constant striving to develop and grow the magazine together with everyone who is involved. Shoebox is operating in a certain context, but when new elements from different contexts become part of it, something super interesting happens. I was working in a library in Jordan this summer and suddenly I found a book in Swedish. I felt happy, excited: Wow! How did this get here? What’s the story behind it? We’re trying to enable that in Shoebox.  

DM: In the introduction for the magazine you usually highlight the fluidity of the project, that you don’t always know what direction it’s going in, and you’re good at letting it be what it is. I’m curious why you’re exploring this specifically through a paper/PDF format magazine. What can be unlocked through this kind of publication compared to other media?

DF: I find that publications are special because you tend to not throw them away. I’ve always loved books – holding them, smelling them, looking at them, reading them – so making a physical publication is closer to my heart than anything else. The PDF is there on a very matter-of-fact level because of printing costs. We’re running on a low, self-funded budget, so having it in PDF form is also a way of putting it out there when that isn’t possible with physical copies. 

DM: Currently you’re in the process of working on your fifth issue of Shoebox Magazine; what’s on the horizon? In which way do you think the elements and logistics of the magazine can still be fine-tuned? 

DF: I think we’ll just have to wait and see. We’re still taking submissions, and the issue will take its form once they’re in. Maybe the magazine will take a different shape soon, and that would be fine. To be honest, the logistics of making Shoebox are quite difficult, especially with a small team and having it self-funded and DIY. But again, that’s the point. It’s a constant process, and as long as we stay open and true to ourselves something new and exciting will happen. That’s the core of it. 

^*Shoebox #1 was released 2024 in The Netherlands. We were based in Egypt between the summer of 2024 and 2025.