Independent Magazine on Art, Culture and Power
Pen vs Sword is an independent magazine about art, culture and power. We publish cultural criticism, political art history, long-form journalism and analysis of the movements, artists, thinkers and ideas that shape how societies understand themselves and how those understandings are challenged.
POWER, RESISTANCE & IMAGINATION ACROSS ART, HISTORY, MEDIA & POLITICS
On a broader level we examine power, resistance and imagination across art, history, media and politics. Through image rich long-form articles, visual culture and critical commentary you can explore how ideas shape the world and how the world pushes back.
DEEP DIVE : CULTURE AND CAPITAL HUB
Culture and Capital Hub – An ongoing examination of how economic systems shape culture, labour and everyday life. These articles trace the intersections of capitalism, class, ideology and resistance, revealing how power operates through markets, institutions and cultural norms.
CULTURE & CAPITAL
HOW POWER OPERATES THROUGH CULTURE
DEEP DIVE : RESISTANCE AND SOLIDARITY HUB
Resistance and Solidarity Hub – Articles on collective struggle, political movements and the histories of resistance that continue to inform the present. This section explores how solidarity is formed, sustained and renewed across generations and global contexts.
RESISTANCE & SOLIDARITY
COLLECTIVE STRUGGLE, MEMORY AND THE POLITICS OF ACTION
DEEP DIVE : LANGUAGE, MEDIA AND TRUTH HUB
Language, Media and Truth Hub – Writing on how narratives are constructed, contested and weaponised. These articles examine journalism, propaganda, rhetoric and storytelling to ask who controls meaning and how language and media shape what societies accept as truth.
LANGUAGE, MEDIA & TRUTH
NARRATIVE, POWER AND THE MAKING OF REALITY
DEEP DIVE : ART AND POWER HUB
Art and Power Hub – Articles exploring how art engages with power – from political imagery and visual protest to movements that challenge authority, ideology and control. This section examines art not as decoration, but as a force that shapes perception, resistance and public life.
ART & POWER
VISUAL CULTURE, RESISTANCE, MEANING
DEEP DIVE : FUTURE IMAGINARIES HUB
Future Imaginaries Hub – Writing that treats the future as a contested political space. These articles explore climate futures, utopian and dystopian thought, technological change and cultural imagination and asks which futures are being shaped, restricted or fought for today.
FUTURE IMAGINARIES
POWER, POSSIBILITY AND THE POLITICS OF TOMORROW
DEEP DIVE : MUSIC, SOUND & CULTURAL MEMORY HUB
Music, Sound & Cultural Memory Hub – A space for deep listening and sonic exploration, with radio sessions, curated mixes and critical reflections. From the Radio Guesthouse pandemic broadcasts to the re-OpenLab transmissions of Robert Miles and Mark Farina, to the Architextures dialogue between sound and visual culture, it’s a place to discover, listen, drift and return.
MUSIC, SOUND & CULTURAL MEMORY
LISTENING, ATMOSPHERE AND THE SHARED MEMORY OF SOUND
PROPAGANDA DEPARTMENT : THE PEN VS SWORD MAGAZINE SHOP
Propaganda Department – An exclusive range of products created in house by Pen vs Sword, each carrying the magazine’s editorial spirit. T-shirts, t-Shirt dresses, hoodies, dresses, shirts, original framed art prints, unframed historical prints and accessories come together to reflect ideas, culture and creativity in a space where concepts take shape and stories are lived in the physical world.
PROPAGANDA DEPARTMENT
THE PHYSICAL PUBLISHING ARM OF PEN VS SWORD MAGAZINE
From the Suffragette movement to Hurufiyya, from Peter Kennard to B.F. Skinner, from May 1968 to Woman Life Freedom, this is a magazine where culture and politics are treated as inseparable. Free to read, independent, and published by people who believe the pen is mightier.
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