Urgent Matter is an independent arts and culture news publication and news wire founded in October 2025 by journalist Adam Schrader.
The publication reports on the intersections of art, law, politics, and technology, covering galleries and museums, labor movements, criminal and civil court cases and government policy.
Based in New York, Urgent Matter was created to fill the gap left as many newsrooms scale back arts coverage. Its mission is to keep cultural journalism rigorous, accessible and rooted in public interest. Urgent Matter is more than an industry publication, it seeks to provide cultural news for all readers.
The publication is entirely editorially independent. It receives no funding from the institutions or individuals it reports on.
Beyond providing regular breaking news, art-world investigations and feature articles on its platforms, Urgent Matter is interested in partnering with other news organizations to license our stories for affordable fees.
As newsrooms across the country cut back on arts and lifestyle staff and coverage due to drops in advertising revenue, Urgent Matter seeks to fill the gap by providing ready-to-publish stories with original or licensed media.
Please contact adam@urgentmatter.press for more information on licensing our articles.
Submissions
We currently do not have a budget to pay freelancers and are morally against unpaid labor in most circumstances, so our submissions are generally closed. Established journalists with compelling pitches may reach out to adam@urgentmatter.press to discuss publication on a case-by-case basis. We do not accept any sponsored content.
Tips and Pitches
If you are a public relations professional, please direct all news releases to adam@urgentmatter.press. We do not have the desire or ability to cover all news releases, so please send your pitches judiciously.
If you are an arts professional or a member of the public with a story tip, you can also email us at urgentmattertips@proton.me. For the best privacy, create your own ProtonMail account and message us from there. Proton-to-Proton messages are end-to-end encrypted. If you need stronger anonymity, open ProtonMail in Tor Browser.
Subscriptions
If you subscribe today, you'll get full access to the website as well as email newsletters about new content when it's available. Your subscription makes this site possible, and allows Urgent Matter to continue to exist. Thank you!