Headline Speakers:
Future Now 2021

This year’s outstanding lineup of headline speakers includes Turner Prize nominees, Magnum Photographers and Silver Lion winners.

Obscure Portraiture

Alma Haser’s puzzle-piece portraits negotiate the boundaries between the real and the manufactured; they are intriguing and unsettling.

Symbiotic Architecture

Four billion people live in urban areas, a figure set only to increase. The only way forward is to welcome the environment into the blueprints.

Playful Geometry

Michael Oliver Love lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa. His style is centred on an interest in organic lines and fluidity in nature.

Identities Transposed

Kriss Munsya was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and raised in Brussels. The Eraser series is a story of change and transformation.

The Story of Aesthetica

Aesthetica is one of the key voices for contemporary visual culture. Hear from one of the founders, Cherie Federico, about setting it up.

Pivotal Illumination

Seminal designs chart the evolution of international lighting as a catalyst for global technological, functional and artistic expression.

10 Questions with Skinder Hundal

We pose 10 questions to our Future Now Symposium key speakers. British Council’s Skinder Hundal discusses his role.

Charting the Course: Issue 100

This is a special edition of Aesthetica Magazine. We are 100 issues old, marking 18 years of the publication. Charting the Course is available now.

New Technologies at Future Now

4.6 billion people now use the internet. Leading artists Jakob Kudsk Steensen and Bill Posters consider digital worlds at Future Now 2021.

Concealment and Control

Photographer Jackie Nickerson wraps the human form in elaborate, unwieldy costumes made of waste plastic, exploring ecology and technology.

Interviews to Watch:
5 Lens-Based Artists

Leading photographers and filmmakers speak about their practice: Viviane Sassen, Nan Goldin, Isaac Julien, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Dawoud Bey.

10 Questions with Zoe Whitley

Ahead of the Future Now Symposium, we pose 10 questions to our key speakers. Zoe Whitley, Director, Chisenhale Gallery, tells us about her role.

Aesthetica Art Prize:
5 Women Sculptors

Sculpture is evolving. It’s moving beyond traditional definitions. Discover five contemporary artists exploring material and form.

Brutalist Architecture:
Buildings to Know

Brutalism is one of the most divisive architectural forms in history. We highlight 5 outstanding examples to know from across the globe.

Constructed Portraiture

Filipino artist Wawi Navarroza stages stylised, vibrantly coloured images that explore the “Tropical Gothic” and ask questions about selfhood.

Evoking the Senses

Kristina Varaksina’s psychologically-charged self-portrait series might be seen as a claustrophobic, 21st century take on classical painting.

Championing Innovation

Huxley-Parlour has been a pioneer of the art market for a decade. We highlight 10 iconic artists hosted by the gallery, one photograph for each year.

Building a History

Women in Architecture is a new book highlighting those responsible for some of the most dazzling features of our contemporary built environment.

5 Must-Attend Events:
Future Now Symposium 2021

4 Days. 30 Events. 100 Speakers. The Aesthetica Future Now Symposium 2021 goes online this year, bringing together key artists for live talks.