Left Cultures #5
180 x 250 mm, 128 pages
London, UK
Annual
First published in 2022
Editor and art director: Phil Wrigglesworth
Design: Clive Russell
Launched as a one-off, but now five issues deep, Left Cultures champions voices of the left, ‘whether that be Socialist, Communist, Anarchist or anything in between.’
Page by page, over 50 contributing writers from far and wide share stories of inspiration which range from the personal to the polemical, with entries accompanied by a commissioned full-page illustration, photograph or collage. Issue by issue the magazine is crafting a beautifully illustrated lexicon of the left.
Inside this edition: An homage to a series of pamphlets known as ‘Spectacular Times’, produced by anarchist Larry Law in the late 1970s that used creative graphic design to deliver situationist theory in simple terms; self-proclaimed ‘scrappy arts collective’ Mek Summat reflect on their 2025 exhibition, ‘Pins for Peace’, that saw 31 artists put a contemporary spin on the badges in Bradford’s Peace Museum archive; and artist Lucy McLauchlan reminisces on her time spent at Dial House, a community founded by musicians Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher, known as a countercultural community hub since 1967.
On the Journal:
‘This magazine’s a powerful reminder that there is a left point of view still available, even if it is so often ignored, marginalised, or worse, demonised in today’s media. It’s refreshing to see these views collected together and rendered relevant and vital as ever.’
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