This winter, in the wake of a pandemic, global protest movements, and a dramatic presidential election in the United States, Aperture magazine’s new issue, “Utopia,” 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. The issue features compelling portfolios by David Benjamin Sherry, Allen Frame, and Balarama Heller—whose respective works span time and geography, from bohemian New York to a Hare Krishna retreat in India—and writing by Antwaun Sargent on Black queer artists’ representations of desire, Sara Knelman on the freeing possibilities of feminist collage, and Salamishah Tillet on Tyler Mitchell’s visions of Black utopia. They all show us that utopia is not a far-fetched scheme, but rather a way of reshaping our future.

In conjunction with the release of “Utopia,” Aperture launches a series of digital programming in partnership with London-based fashion brand JW Anderson. See below for the full schedule.

Tyler Mitchell and Salamishah Tillet on Black Utopia
December 10, 7:00 p.m. ET

Tyler Mitchell’s iconic photographs of Black individuals playing and at ease in public are what Salamishah Tillet calls a “profoundly radical act.” Blurring the line between art and fashion photography, Mitchell’s images capture a Black utopia filled with community, love, and tenderness. In this conversation, Mitchell and Tillet consider what Black utopia looks like in today’s world. See here to register.

Matt Wolf on Creating “Spaceship Earth”
January 21, 2021, 7:00 p.m. ET

For more than a decade, the filmmaker Matt Wolf has won acclaim for his meticulously crafted documentaries that reveal lost histories through deep dives into media archives. In this conversation, Wolf will discuss his latest film, Spaceship Earth (2020), which traces the activities of a counterculture collective known as the Synergists, who spent two years inside Biosphere 2, a self-enclosed ecosystem in the Arizona desert. See here to register.

Feminist Futures with Sara Knelman
February 4, 2021, 7:00 p.m. ET

From the Dada movement to today, artists have deployed the visual collisions of collage to critique, challenge, provoke, and invent their own idyllic realms. In this conversation, writer Sara Knelman speaks with Alanna Fields and others about the freeing, utopian nature of feminist collage. See here to register.

Antwaun Sargent on Black Queer Utopia
February 18, 2021, 7:00 p.m. ET

Antwaun Sargent, artist Shikeith, and others discuss the ways Black queer artists are redefining the notion of utopia. As Sargent explains in his essay “The Future Will See You Now,” Black queer artists are using photography in defiance of the “straight imagination,” and in doing so, creating their own narratives of desire and relief. See here to register.

Read more from Aperture, issue 241, “Utopia,” or subscribe to Aperture and never miss an issue.

Through December 14, as part of the Aperture Magazine Collectors’ Edition, collect a signed print by David Benjamin Sherry for $200.