THE STATE Vol 2: 'Speculative Geographies' launches this July and features submissions from entries received earlier this year. In the first issue applicants were asked about the vernacular emitting from different places. For this volume, the focus is on places themselves - those that could have been or those that will be. Fifteen pieces have been selected for this issue, and together they present a multidisciplinary approach to the interpretation of speculation. Kathmandu, Brasilia and colonial Egypt are studied through the lens of place and speculation. Some of the pieces are manifestos and papers calling for future action, and others write on a speculative fictional future that looks like a very realistic present.

THE STATE can be found at the PRINT bookstore in Traffic, Dubai; Section 7 Books (Castillo/Corrales) in Paris; Quimby's Bookstore in Chicago; Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, CA2M Library in Madrid and Printed Matter, Inc. in New York. THE STATE will also be available to purchase online on the website in the coming month (both in print and online versions).

THE STATE investigates the space between print and audio-visual experiences and their transition to mediated online forms; transgressive cultural criticism and the sensuous architecture of this “printernet.” For more information, please visit www.thestate.ae and www.viatraffic.org

Visit THE STATE online for essays, articles, web-installations and the daily blog.