Welcome to The Christmas Issue

Without darkness, there is no light

Welcome to the fourth issue of Culture 360, Articulate’s online magazine created by young people for young people. This is our Christmas Issue, but inside you won’t find any cracker jokes.

It’s a Christmas magazine like no other – but then Christmas in 2020 has been like no other. The Coronavirus pandemic kept families apart, let in cold air through open windows, and prevented people from passing the gravy without a squirt of sanitiser.

We’re in the darkest month of the year, in one of the hardest years we may ever go through. But recent news about a vaccine glows on the horizon, and brings us hope for light and laughter in 2021.

This issue of the magazine is about leaning into the darkness and finding out what’s hiding in the shadows. It’s about watching Christmas shows through the light of a computer screen and forgetting where you are for a while. It’s about appreciating the sunlight on short winter days.

Huge thanks to graphic designer Niall Smillie, who brought our ideas about a dark front cover to life; and to Caroline Thompson for her unerring support throughout the online workshops. 

Most of all, thanks and congratulations go to the extraordinary group of young people living in Possil, Glasgow, who showed up on Zoom every Tuesday after school. Despite all the challenges thrown at them – and how difficult it is to be at your creative best under those circumstances – they have created brilliant work that reflects the strange times we are living through.

Jess Connett

The Christmas Issue mentor and editor