We asked some of our contributors to share who left the greatest impression on them this year, which shows they’re most looking forward to next year and for a little literary and gift-giving inspo, what’s topping their list.
Jasmin Hernandez Which exhibition are you most looking forward to in 2018? “David Bowie Is” and “Radical Latin Women: Latin American Art 1960-1985.” I missed both shows and they are finally coming to the Brooklyn Museum this Spring. The timing is perfect.
Which cultural figure left an impression on you this year and why? I would have to say Solange. After so many missed attempts, I finally saw her at Radio City Music Hall this fall, and she delivered just what we needed. Magic, healing, psychedelic hooks and futuristic fashions.
What cultural happening has your attention for 2018? I still need to make Prospect 4 which ends Feb 25. I've never been to New Orleans and I get to see incredible art by my faves like Geneveieve Gaignard, Maria Berrio, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby. It's a win win all-around.
Which books are on your list for the remainder of 2017? Currently reading “The Last Party,” by Anthony Haden-Guest. Next up will be “NW” by Zadie Smith and I want to read more memoirs, like the ones by Grace Jones, Pat Cleveland and Tiffany Haddish.
What item tops your gift list? Definitely the Studio 54 coffeetable book by Ian Schrager. It's a must title to add to my books on nightlife, fashion and New York in the '70s and '80s. 
Rachel Small What museum/gallery/etc show are you most looking forward to in 2018? I haven't had a chance to take stock of everything that's been announced. But one small, not-super-hyped show that sounds cool to me is "Dangerous Beauty: Medusa in Classical Art," opening in February at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Given the state of the world, I think that the more dangerous, beautiful women we have around, the better.
Which cultural figure left an impression on you this year and why? Trevor Paglen's projects always leave an impression on me—especially in their prescience toward technology and its evolving socio-political role. He has been raising awareness about the government's capabilities surrounding mass surveillance for years. Now, with companies like Peter Thiel's Palantir creating means for ICE to track down individuals through not only through typical administrative information, like their financial records or address, but also through data involving their personal connections and even biometrics, Paglen's work in raising awareness around this is more important than ever. Currently, he's working with the Nevada Museum of Art to launch a satellite sculpture into space. So, that sounds cool, too.
What cultural happening has your attention for 2018? With both FOG Design+Art and Untitled art fairs taking place in San Francisco this Janaury, I'm excited to see what else will be happening in the arts across the city.
What books are on your list for the remainder of 2017? I still need to get to Christopher Bollen's “The Destroyers.” He was my boss when I worked at Interview and he's a terrific writer. The novel is a thriller that takes place on a Greek island, so reading it will also be like a nice imaginary warm-weather getaway, I think.
Ted Loos Which exhibition are you most looking forward to in 2018? Grant Wood at the Whitney, in March. One of my all-time favorite artists, he's too famous for American Gothic and not famous enough for everything else he did.
Which cultural figure left an impression on you this year and why? Duke's chief curator Trevor Schoonmaker, for his steady hand and sensitivity in organizing the 4th Prospect New Orleans. A well thought out show that was both local and international at the same time.
What cultural happening has your attention for 2018? The World Cup. I don't know anything about soccer—or about any sport save tennis, for that matter—but I like seeing people go crazy for something I don't have a stake in. Any outcome is equally pleasant.
What books are on your list for the remainder of 2017? Must get around to reading “Lincoln in Bardo”—I'm the only one who hasn't, it seems. I love George Saunders.
What item tops your gift list? I am re-doing my kitchen—and I am accepting donations.
William J. Simmons What museum/gallery/etc show are you most looking forward to in 2018? Definitely Judy Chicago's debut exhibition at Salon 94 with works from the PowerPlay series (1982-87). Chicago's work is of foundational importance, and now the full range of her work is reaching the public it deserves. People might be surprised to know that this is a body of work about men and masculinity. I can think of nothing more prescient.
Which cultural figure left an impression on you this year and why? Rachel Corbett and Amanda Schmitt, whose fearless pursuit of justice has changed everything in the art world and beyond.
What cultural happening has your attention for 2018? I'm looking forward to everyone who has felt victimized or shamed because of their gender, sexuality, or gender expression to feel the weight of that struggle lessened or removed.
What books are on your list for the remainder of 2017? “The Hunger Years” by Jack Pierson; “This Is No Dream: Making Rosemary’s Baby,” text by James Munn; “Photography after Photography: Gender, Genre, Histor” by Abigail Solomon-Godeau; Rizzoli's Genieve Figgis monograph; “The Films of Catherine Breillat” by Sophie Bélot and “The Professor” by Charlotte Brontë
What item tops your gift list? Guerrilla Girls tea towels; a Jeff Koons Louis Vuitton bag; Judy Chicago's Through the Flower scarf.
Jessica Lynne What museum/gallery/etc show are you most looking forward to in 2018? Without question, “Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-1985”
Which cultural figure left an impression on you this year and why? I'm going to shout out to collectives: Press Press (Baltimore, MD) and Thicker Black Lines (London, UK). I first learned of Press Press about a year ago and immediately fell in love with their mission to center publishing, libraries, and publications as a way to think about righteous collaboration and justice work, particularly for immigrant communities in Baltimore.
Thick/er Black Lines is an interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to building new frameworks for Black British art while (and I'll use their language here because it's fantastic) testifying to the Black European Diaspora. This summer, Thick/er Black Lines was in residency at The Tate on the occasion of the exhibition, “Soul of A Nation.” They hosted reading groups, organized libraries with a specific focus on Black British Women artists, and round table discussions about the exhibition itself.
What cultural happening has your attention for 2018? In 2018, I'm eager to attend more Movement Research Performances at Judson Memorial Church on Monday nights. It's a wonderful way to start the week and allows one to be in fellowship with so many new ideas and new artists.
What books are on your list for the remainder of 2017? There are tons of books I want to try to read before the end of the year, but there are two that I absolutely haveto read: Viet Thanh Nguyen's novel “The Sympathizer” and Jonathan Gould's new Otis Redding biography, “Otis Redding: An Unfinished Life.”
What item tops your gift list? Candles, books and teas are the gifts I tend to give most often to the people I care about. This year though, I also want to mail cards and letters to loved ones. Who doesn't love receiving a good letter?
Sara Roffino What museum/gallery/etc show are you most looking forward to in 2018? “Tarsila do Amaral: Inventing Modern Art in Brazil” at MoMA; Sonia Gomes at the São Paulo Museum of Art; and, obviously, the New Museum Triennial.
Which cultural figure left an impression on you this year and why? Teresa Fimino and Helena Uambembe—two young South African artists who work as the collective Kutala Chopeto. I spent a morning with them in Cape Town and then got to see them in action at Goodman Gallery. They combine research, story-telling and performance in an absolutely breathtaking way. I can't wait to see what is next for them.
I also saw an exhibition of Pakistani artist Lala Rukh at Grey Noise in Dubai that I still think about quite often. I didn't know her work before—or anything about her—but she was an important feminist activist in Lahore and throughout Southeast Asia. Despite her public presence, her work was almost hermetic. I was struck by the subtle beauty of the work and the way in which something so quiet can reverberate with such force.
What cultural happening has your attention for 2018? The itinerant European biennial, Manifesta. This year's edition is taking place in Palermo, with the theme The Planetary Garden: Cultivating Coexistence—obviously timely and in a place where people from different cultures have co-existed since before antiquity. Also in Sicily, I'm looking forward to visiting the Fondazione Brodbeck, a private collection and residency in an industrial zone of Catania where the artist Viola Yesiltaç was recently on view. I am always looking to see what is happening at Galeria La Veronica in Modica—one of the most relevant and ambitious young galleries in operation, representing Adelita Husni-Bey (who co-represented Italy in the Venice Biennial this year) and Maryam Jaffri.
What books are on your list for the remainder of 2017? First I need to finish “Edie,” Jean Stein's oral history of Edie Sedgwick, which is composed of hundreds of first-hand stories and memories from everyone who was anyone in New York in the sixties. It brings all the figures together in this amazing way—from René Ricard, George Plimpton, Betsey Johnson and Diana Vreeland to Henry Geldzahler, and Warhol himself—and has so many incredible anecdotes from the era. I had no idea Bob Dylan was partly responsible for Edie and Andy's separation, or that he supposedly wrote Just Like a Lady for the young superstar who was in love with him not knowing he was already married to Sara. When I finish “Edie,” I'd like to read the new eflux/Sternberg Press book, “What's Love Got to Do With It,” which my most brilliant friend just introduced me to. It might be an intellectual anesthetic for love, or it might be just what we need to figure out how and why to love in fraught times.
What item tops your gift list? For years I've been meaning to get my dear friend a membership to Film Forum—because if we can't figure out love, what is better than a $9 movie? Perhaps I will finally do that.
Laura de Gunzburg What museum/gallery/etc show are you most looking forward to in 2018? I would have to say the Sheila Hicks show at the Pompidou!
Which cultural figure left an impression on you this year and why? I am the furthest thing from a photography fan, but the show at the Tate and the Beyeler Foundation really peaked my interest in Wolfgang Tillmans work!
What cultural happening has your attention for 2018? Prospect in New Orleans as I have never been!
What books are on your list for the remainder of 2017? Honestly, I haven't had a second to myself the last few months, so this has really fallen on the back-burner for me right now!
What item tops your gift list? Paravel travel accessories are the best gifts for just about anyone!
Kat Herriman What museum/gallery/etc show are you most looking forward to in 2018? Valerie Keane at the Dallas Contemporary, Molly Lowe at the Hammer an Sondra Perry at Serpentine.
Which cultural figure left an impression on you this year and why? Jason Schmidt and I worked together all year it seems. His generosity of spirit and excitement for what he does reminded me how thankful I am to work in the community that I do.
What cultural happening has your attention for 2018? DIS’s new video channel. "A PBS for Gen Z!”
What books are on your list for the remainder of 2017? I spent the year chasing Calvino. I still have some folktales left.
What item tops your gift list (or the one you're most looking forward to give)? Net neutrality and ACLU donations!
