This second Utopia commission John Carney reimagines the world under a new banner ‘All Power to the Imagination’. The flag acts as a concept allowing the opportunity to open up questions about the paradoxical nature of utopias. The name of the banner derives from the Paris Student Revolt of 1968 ‘‘L’imagination au Pouvoir’’. This uprising encouraged people to dream as a collective whilst imagining new social and political models as well as the powerful potential in collective utopian thinking to ignite social change.

However, false utopias have also been monopolised in populist political strategies through promises of a mythical return to an imaginary idealised past, as seen in the propaganda of right-wing populism across Europe and the United States. John asks us as creatives to consider our responsibility to rethink current social models and share strategies in how these could be implemented.

What impact does this have on our relationship with the political?