Issue 241: “Utopia”

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This winter, in the wake of a pandemic, global protest movements, and a dramatic presidential election in the United States, Aperture releases “Utopia,” an issue that shows that other ways of living are possible—when the collective will exists.

In “Utopia,” artists, photographers, and writers envision a world without prisons, document visionary architecture, honor queer space and creativity, and dream of liberty through spiritual self-expression. They show us that utopia is not a far-fetched scheme, but rather a way of reshaping our future.

In the issue:

Words
“Love for a Common Way of Life”
Tyler Mitchell’s vision of Black utopia
by Salamishah Tillet

“Dream Worlds: Five Reflections”
–“Utopia by Subtraction” by Chris Jennings
–“Occupy the Moment” by Olivia Laing
–“Abolition” by Nicole R. Fleetwood
–“Towering Ambitions” by Steven S. Lee
–“The Rot of Stars” by Elvia Wilk

“Spaceship Earth”
What a new documentary reveals about Biosphere 2
Matt Wolf in conversation with Julian Rose

“Dreaming & Dwelling”
The architecture that imagined a new society
by Mimi Zeiger

“Feminist Futures”
The artists who find freedom in collage
by Sara Knelman

“Remains of the Day”
Holding space in the Middle East, ten years after the Arab Spring
by Kaelen Wilson-Goldie

“The Future Will See You Now”
The private worlds of Black desire
by Antwaun Sargent

“The Black Fantastic”
Speculative visions of the African diaspora
by Ekow Eshun

“Calling in the Spirit”
For Latinx photographers, a search for belonging
by Kiara Cristina Ventura

Pictures
David Benjamin Sherry: “American Spirit”
Introduction by Yxta Maya Murray

Allen Frame: “1981, NYC”
Introduction by Brendan Embser

Aikaterini Gegisian: “The Suspended Real”
Introduction by Lauren Elkin

Gareth McConnell: “Dream Meadows”
Introduction by Alistair O’Neill

Balarama Heller: “Sacred Place”
Introduction by Pico Iyer

Plus—Lou Stoppard on Koto Bolofo and Europe’s fashion world of the 1980s, Rebecca Bengal on the making of Mary Ellen Mark’s The Book of Everything, and Paul Graham on Garry Winogrand, green tea, and New York City.

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Significant support of Aperture magazine is provided by The Kanakia Foundation and by Jon Stryker and Slobodan Randjelović. Further generous support is provided in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Aperture Foundation’s programs are made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.