A Fair Share of Utopia

Can you put your own interests aside and really fight for a better world in the interest of future generations, or is it easier if you imagine yourself to be part of that unknown future? In her essay ”What if We’re All Coming Back?” in The New York Times of October 2018, human rights lawyer Michelle Alexander tries to imagine the world you would end up in if you were to reincarnate at a random place and under random circumstances.

Her essay was at basis of the exhibition A Fair Share of Utopia. Out of this thought experiment, to imagine a fundamentally different, sustainable and more humane organization of society, the artists speculate about an unknown future of which they themselves are part. Through this exercise in imagination, the exhibition offers proposals for alternative ways of dealing with each other and with the earth.

The exhibition A Fair Share of Utopia was accompanied by the Dutch publication Wat niet is maar kan zijn, in which a selection of writers and artists explore the possibility of putting their own interests aside for a better world for future generations.

Now the publication is available in a revised and extended edition in English, with the eponymous title A Fair Share of Utopia. Eleven writers and ten visual artists speculate about an unknown future of which they themselves are part. They explore the possibility of putting their own interests aside for a better world for future generations.

With text contributions by Michelle Alexander, René ten Bos, Dean Bowen, Sander Donkers, Clarice Gargard, Jean Kwok, Sisonke Msimang, Rashid Novaire, Vamba Sherif, Jan van de Venis and Louwrien Wijers.

With artist contributions by Brook Andrew, Raul Balai, Ghana ThinkTank & AiRich, Claudia Martínez Garay, Femke Herregraven, Nástio Mosquito, Simphiwe Ndzube, Marianne Nicolson and Müge Yilmaz.

This publication is initiated by Nest – space for contemporary art. 

The book is published on the occasion of the exhibition A Fair Share of Utopia, curated by Manon Braat, that was on view at Nest and CBK Zuidoost from September 3rd until November 22nd, 2020. www.cbkzuidoost.nl

It is a reprint of the original Dutch publication Wat niet is maar kan zijn, published by Uitgeverij Jurgen Maas, 2020 (ISBN 978-94-91921-82-7).