EDITOR’S NOTE
Allow me to wax poetic about Kanto’s beginnings.
It was 2015, roughly a month before my birthday, which by no coincidence also happens to be
Kanto’s, when the idea for a blog in the form of an online collaborative journal came to mind.
I started out excited and giddy over all the possibilities until the time came to bring the idea to
fruition. During the production of the journal, I found myself constantly pummeled with doubts
and fears: I was too afraid to contact people I wanted to feature for fear of rejection, too insecure
about the art direction and approach I wanted to take, and just a little bit overwhelmed with the
amount of work (and hats I have to wear as both editor and creative director) to make it happen.
There were many points when I just wanted to “stop this nonsense”, and move on.
Needless to say, I got over the dread, and here we are still standing and constantly
growing, two years from that fateful day in September.
This issue’s theme hits close to home.
Revolutions, trends, organizations, countries, technologies and causes—they have one
thing in common. Someone dared. Someone dared to make things happen. Someone dared
to cross the bridge of doubt; someone dared to surmount societal standards and norms in
order to make their voices heard, their views communicated.
And they had courage to keep them going.
Courage doesn’t always manifest in big things. Sometimes, it comes in the small changes
we make to make our and others’ lives better. Today when I look back to the many moments
of doubt I had producing Kanto No. 1, I feel proud of what we’ve achieved. Kanto has grown
to become more than just a one-man show into a global effort that connects creatives by
celebrating the many ways creativity has made and is making the world a better place. And it all
started with that one decision to take the leap, and as our main cover line goes, make a splash.
Now, speaking of changes, Kanto is undergoing a few starting with this issue. For one, Kanto
will now come in a leaner, more feature-packed format of 96 pages per issue, and will be released
five times a year. Me and my awesome managing editor Danielle Austria, an indispensable fixture
in Kanto for the past few issues (and future issues to come!), are also hard at work on a brand new
website coming next year, complementing the journal with exciting and thoughtful content.
Lastly, Kanto will now be available in three of the biggest digital publication platforms for ease of
access and download, namely Issuu, Joomag and Magzter.
Thanks again for being part of our two-year journey and hope that you’ll join the ride in
many more issues to come. Go make that splash and happy reading!
Patrick
@patrick_kasingsing