VIS Issue 13 “Brieftopia” is out!

VIS Issue 13, Brieftopia, was published on 18 March 2025. The issue contains six expositions emphasising exploration of an imagined realm—a fleeting yet delightful sight into an imaginative future, a momentary glimpse into a potential future that is both accessible and tangible, a brief utopia, a Brieftopia.

The politics of the future are deeply intertwined with the present socio-economic, cultural, and environmental landscapes. As societies grapple with complex challenges such as war, occupations, climate change, technological advancement, inequality, and geopolitical tensions, today's decisions shape the trajectory of tomorrow—the politics of the future vision of the kind of world we want to inhabit. A desired world is driven by those whose voices matter, whose needs come first, and whose values lead to progress.

VIS Issue 13 “Brieftopia” explores these political landscapes, proposing insights and alternative visions for a more equitable future.

The term Brieftopia was coined by the editor of this issue, Behzad Khosravi Noori, as a method of artistic research toward future investigation. It represents a moment of imaginative fluidity within the confines of our present environment and the temporality of time: a brief moment where artistic research intertwines with the politics of envisioning plausible futures and imagining a tangible future which provides a temporary refuge that potentially navigates the existence.

In this issue, following diverse interpretations and artistic explorations, “Brieftopias” are not merely a disconnected realm of sub-political consciousness divorced from the realities of future politics. They are all a brief intermezzo where our minds embark on an imaginary journey, interweaving through the fabric of the real world while momentarily escaping its constraints to imagine the future. Brieftopia, in its utopian desire, rejects the non-placeness of utopian thought and attempts to use art as a reminder of the plausible future and politics around it.

Behzad Khosravi Noori, Editor VIS #13

 

Expositions in VIS Issue 13

Monica Tusinean
Design Phenomenographies for Industrial Wastelands (Designfenomenografier för industriella ödelandskap)

Torben Körschkes
Fata Morgana. An Essay Journey (Fata Morgana. En essäresa)

Whyte&Zettergren
Galaxy Revolution – Space travel as a tool for reimagining (Galaxy Revolution – Rymdfärd som ett verktyg för omformning)

Hilde Hovland Honerud, Jon Hovland Honerud
Photography, Temporality, and Thinking about the Future (Fotografi, temporalitet og å tenke om framtiden)

Leonardo Barbierato
Escalating inter-activity: brieftopic glimpse in site-specific post-human improvised music (Eskalerande interaktivitet: en brieftopisk inblick i platsspecifik posthuman improviserad musik)

Saniya Jafri
Ideally, the biryani that brings us all together (Den ultimata biryanin som förenar oss alla)

Read the issue on VIS website:
VIS #13 – In English
VIS #13 – svenska/norska/danska

 

VIS Editorial Committee 2025:
Behzad Khosravi Noori, Eliot Moleba, Gunhild Mathea Husvik-Olaussen, Tale Næss, Michael Duch and Mia Engberg. (Magnus Bärtås and Cecilia Roos until December 2024). Editorial Project Manager: Heidi Möller.

Header image from the exposition “Galaxy Revolution – Space travel as a tool for reimagining” by Whyte&Zettergren.