Sophie Kaplan
Director of La Criée centre d'art contemporain
As the succession of crises seems to accelerate more and more — ecological, but also postcolonial, societal, representational, etc. — for many, it is no longer possible to remain passive in the face of the coming collapse. It is no longer possible to simply observe, note, and tremble. The acceleration of crises goes hand in hand with an acceleration of societal and individual rhythms, to which one must continuously submit and adjust. In this context, many artists, actors and actresses, thinkers of the art world are reflecting on forms of adaptation, alternatives, and resistance. La Criée contemporary art center accompanies this movement through the artistic cycle Festina Lente (Make haste slowly), which unfolds into exhibitions, events, and residencies, as well as in the pages of this revue.
Because our era indeed calls for new ways of thinking about and making art.
And to ask ourselves:
How should art address climate change that directly affects its conditions of appearance and diffusion?
What sustainable circulations and constructions, in relationship with and listening to the regeneration and the long term that grounds the living, can be invented, beating in harmony with all human societies and living beings? What neighborhoods? What alliances?
How and what to create in a damaged world with uncertain futures? Can the art's power to act help rethink and transform the world?
The artists, thinkers, writers, who blend their voices in this first review, were invited to express what the oxymoron Festina Lente / make haste slowly resonated within them. Their responses take the form of portfolios (Cieslik, Muller), short essays (Bailly, Szreder, Guesde, Kubler, Imhof and Quiros), and brief stories (Zely, Gounelle, Betin and Kala), which, starting from personal experiences or collective observations, share the same observation: attention is central, it establishes the quality of our experience of the world around us; however, it is currently being mistreated.