Call for Content Issue 58 PLASTIC

Contributions are sought for short articles (1,000 words or fewer) with strong visual content, as well as photo and image essays, for the Modernist Society's magazine, the modernist. For the 2026 series, the magazine is tackling the letter ‘P’. 

For our Autumn 2026 issue, we are taking on PLASTIC. Plastic permeates our lives today, largely as a legacy of its mind-blowing expansion in production and application throughout the twentieth century. We invite articles that respond to twentieth-century ideas and attitudes towards PLASTIC - from the engineering, design and architectural ambitions enabled by innovative new uses; to failed attempts to harness it for purposes it could never fulfil. 

Developments in manufacturing and design allowed PLASTIC to be harnessed for widespread everyday use: from chairs and kitchenware to casing for electronic items - many of which are now celebrated as twentieth-century design ‘icons’.

Other uses were more fleeting, such as the inflatable moment in the 1960s, when furniture, clothing and even artworks and buildings were hailed as part of a new realm of PLASTIC possibilities. 

 

We are open to suggestions and interpretations! If you’ve got an idea for an article related to PLASTIC that is firmly rooted in twentieth-century architecture and design, then we’d love to hear from you. 

Submission guidelines 

  • Proposals only at this stage — a short paragraph and/or a few images outlining your idea is perfect. 

  • Articles must focus firmly on twentieth‑century architecture and/or design. 

  • All contributors will be contacted by 2nd June 2026 (5PM GMT). If your proposal is accepted, final articles and accompanying images will be due by 2nd July 2026 (5PM GMT). 

The issue will be published in October 2026. 

 

Please note, the modernist magazine is a not‑for‑profit social enterprise run on a shoestring, and relies on the generosity of like‑minded people and fellow travellers to share their ideas, words and pictures with us and our readers. Unfortunately, there is no budget available to pay fees for contributions or image use. Articles and photographs are requested in a spirit of community and friendly collaboration. 

Find out more 

Explore previous issues of the modernist at www.the-modernist.org. 

Before submitting familiarise yourself with our contributor Terms and Conditions (below). 

 

CONTRIBUTOR TERMS AND CONDITIONS 

All contributors must obtain permission to reproduce images and any other non-original content prior to submission. It is the responsibility of the contributor to ensure that any content submitted to the modernist does not infringe legal rights. This includes submitting work that; could be libellous or maliciously false; be obscene or indecent; infringe copyright, moral rights, database rights, trade mark rights, design rights, rights in passing off, or other intellectual property rights; infringe rights of confidence, rights of privacy, or rights under data protection legislation; constitute negligent advice; constitute an incitement to commit a crime; be in contempt of court, or in breach of a court order; be in breach of racial or religious hatred or discrimination legislation; be blasphemous; or be in breach of official secrets legislation. 

 

Image Credits

Eames Chair Photograph by Rama, Cc-by-sa-2.0-fr, CC BY-SA 2.0 FR, via Wikimedia Commons 

Fuji-Pavilion, Osaka Expo ‘70, kouij OOTA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 

Stamp of Finland, 1971, Colnect 46625 - Plastic Products, Post of Finland, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons 

Buckminster Fuller holding a geodesic tensegrity sphere CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons