Belgium: state of the nation

We tour the breathtaking studios of artists’ residence Lallukka in Helsinki, which hasn’t changed its purpose since it was completed in 1933. The landmark functionalist building offers spaces at low rents so that its tenants can focus on one thing: making art.

Hands up who’s looking forward to 2021? Monocle is too and The Forecast is our optimistic and informed take on the year ahead. From the offices showing why communal working is here to stay to the changing world of espionage, our global coverage will put a spring in your step. Plus: which city comes top of our Small Cities Index?Available now at The Monocle Shop

As a landmark US election approaches, Jane Fonda, Theaster Gates and Chris Wallace offer their thoughts on where the country should go next. Change elsewhere comes in the form of city farms, the latest design finds and an art fair redux. Plus: we survey North Rhine-Westphalia, a region on the up.Available now at The Monocle Shop

The unassuming Shimada Gama workshop in Gotsu doubles up as an open-air museum of traditional stoneware pottery. It specialises in creating large pieces that are burnt in a sloped wood-fired kiln. We talk to the 73-year-old master Shimada Takayuki about the challenges of passing the rare skill and aesthetic sensibility down to his son and grandson.