BCB alumna launches innovative, interdisciplinary print magazine Perediza

Aryana Arian, an alumna of Bard College Berlin '20, was driven by her passion to create something that embodied the values deeply ingrained during her education at BCB. The outcome? Perediza, "the magazine that questions," a journal that delves into a wide array of global and interdisciplinary issues. This London-based print and digital publication explores topics ranging from media and climate change to art, style, and life. As Editor-in-Chief, Aryana applied her interdisciplinary education and networking opportunities from BCB to successfully launch the project.

“I learned everything from scratch,” Aryana says about the process behind creating Perediza. “I put myself to work for 10 months to really focus. I taught myself design, learned about the magazine business, the details of printing, and anything else that was needed to launch”. The magazine, which recently published its second edition, is the culmination of years of hard work and constant learning, produced from a desire to engage critically with the world through writing, art, and mixed media.

Collaboration is essential to Perediza. Aryana shares, “I envisioned something that would be a blend of a journal and a magazine—something fresh, innovative, and collaborative.” The realization of this vision was made possible by the network Aryana cultivated during her time at Bard College Berlin. Notably, Perediza's managing editor, Francesca Nicolodi, is a fellow BCB alumna. In addition, the magazine actively welcomes writing submissions and art collaborations from both current BCB students and alumni, fostering a dynamic space where the creative work of students can continue to shine beyond university.

Aryana recalls the profound effect the core curriculum at BCB had in shaping her way of viewing the world, teaching her the value in approaching problems from an interdisciplinary, critical lens that bridges the gap between a diverse set of fields. From philosophy to renaissance art, modernism, political economy, and aesthetic theory, the boundaries between disciplines were constantly questioned at BCB. Perediza aspires to extend this transformative effect to its readers, bringing academic subjects to the real world in an engaging, accessible way.

Beyond academic values, Perediza also draws inspiration from something equally precious that resulted from the BCB experience—personal connections. Aryana missed conversations between peers and the valuable insights gained from discussions among students, saying, “that was something I couldn’t really find after graduating and I longed for similarly enriching connections.” Perediza works to capture the essence of fleeting exchanges that are an invaluable facet of university life, and offers them a platform to be shared. Aryana says, “Bard College Berlin really has a special group of people that are very engaged with the world and how it works. That’s something that we can easily forget to appreciate until we lose it.”

Perediza is an ambitious project that connects university life to the world beyond, shaped by BCB’s educational values and networks that give a voice to a new generation in media. The second edition of the magazine—which explores aspects of self identity around nature, our surroundings, bodies, and even phones—can be ordered from the Perediza website or purchased at a select number of stores around the world. 

Post Date: 10-17-2023