How can we avoid the errors of the past? How can we learn from this period of disruption and prepare the future together? From the mystical landscapes of Iceland to the shores of the Mediterranean, the magazine’s stories, poems, photos and illustrations take us on a journey across Europe and beyond, exploring future scenarios.
In this new edition, the magazine tackles a series of questions, both current, or which happened in the past and help to anticipate the future. Like the fascinating article by our contributor Francis Carpentier, who provides pertinent insight on the links between architecture and the environment. He examines the famous house designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for Edith Farnsworth in a marshy meadow on the outskirts of Chicago between 1945 and 1951. Francis draws on a rich vein of inspiration to fuel a forward-looking reflection on the connection between architectural construction and the place where it comes to life.
You will also find a poignant declaration of love from our contributor Kurt De Boodt, who expresses with poetic verve all his passion for the role of art and artists in society. After the fire which recently broke out in the roof of the Centre for Fine Arts, he was suddenly seized with panic that our building, the history and the values it embodies, could suddenly disappear. In a hypothetical letter sent in 2028 – a hundred years after the Centre’s inauguration – and addressed to the future Queen of the Belgians Elisabeth II, to European authorities, to the citizens of Brussels, and to the artists, Kurt recalls the finest hours in the history of the Centre for Fine Arts. He reveals the central role that it has played, not only in the life of the arts, but also, and perhaps above all, within society, while anticipating the years ahead as we emerge from the global pandemic into the exhilaration of a renewed joie de vivre, reminiscent of the Roaring Twenties that accompanied the birth of the Centre and its unique vision in the last century.
Many other equally inspiring articles are brought together in this new edition of Mayday Magazine, giving you the keys to a better understanding of the society in which we live and the world whose advent is emerging before our eyes. In particular, you will discover Evian, a poem by Syrian-Palestinian author Ghayath Almadhoun, on the condition of refugees and set to images (below).
