Perception is everything. I like to see obstacles as stepping stones and challenges as opportunities. This viewpoint keeps me invigorated and resilient. I’m often asked the question, “where do ideas come from?” For me, it’s about absorbing as many things as possible, going out of my comfort zone and doing things differently. Inspiration can come from the most unexpected places, and, what’s exciting about that is every day you can spark your imagination. As you’re reading this, I’d like you to surprise yourself by trying something new today – maybe it’s walking home via a different route or stopping to help someone (even though you’re busy). There is so much beauty in the everyday, and that is worth celebrating.

This issue recognises agents of change. Throughout history, art has influenced societies, challenged norms, questioned the status quo, raised awareness and prompted new perspectives. The artists in this issue embody this notion. We speak with Tania Franco Klein about her distinct style, which is realised through cinematic photographs. She surveys present-day anxieties and effects of media overstimulation. Meanwhile, Cristóbal Ascencio’s work and research focuses on the relationship between images and memory. He looks at how experience can be appropriated between generations. Kaya & Blank is a photographic duo that explores the way that humans inhabit the world, pushing the boundaries of how reality is presented. Tara Donovan, featured in When Forms Come Alive, opening at the Hayward Gallery, London, this winter, is one of 21 artists in an exhibition that reclaims space in an increasingly digitised world. It spans 60 years of contemporary sculpture and shows works that trigger a physical response.

In photography we traverse continents with an extraordinary range of practitioners, including Derrick O. Boateng, Ibai Acevedo, Jonathan Knowles, Tom Hegen and Neil Burnell. Our cover duo, Tropico Photo, offers pop colours and urban cool. Finally, the Last Words go to Yannis Davy Guibinga.

Cherie Federico