Revue n°2 - Festina Lente (Make haste slowly)

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.

How can we care for those around us, in all their diversity? How can we build common ground in a world too often fractured? How do artists endure the present? What can art do? Where should it stand? These are the questions raised in the second revue of Festina Lente.

Seeking to adapt to plural, complex, and contradictory realities, this revue amplifies diverse voices that follow collective and varied paths. It features voices in dialogue, speaking of ravaged lands and broken lives (Anisia Uzeyman and Saul Williams); ancestral voices speaking through us (Khanyisile Mbongwa and Euridice Zaituna Kala, Léa Muller); mythological figures transforming across centuries and translations (Rasmus Myrup); polyphonic collective voices exploring how to renew language and break free from binary frameworks (Bye Bye Binary); symbiotic voices of companion species (Estelle Chaigne and Vincent Zonca); and others envisioning new ways to reinvent architecture, art, love, and friendship (Xavier Wrona, La collective qui cherche encore son nom, Gilles A. Tiberghien).

The Graphic Design

The layout of Festina Lente is conceived as a nod to the works of Aldus Manutius, the Italian humanist printer of the 15th century, who marked his books with the Latin adage in the form of an emblem: a dolphin (Festina) entwined around an anchor (Lente). Thus, the titles—adorned with asterisks and set in a 15th-century typographic revival—along with the numerous drop caps scattered throughout the publication, offer a graphic reinterpretation of his work.

This revue provides an opportunity to bring together a diverse range of letterforms—contemporary, sensitive, poetic, and joyful—designed by typographers who embrace the letter as an expressive form. This collection of typefaces also reflects a desire for collective creation, a way of intertwining artistic practice to endure the present.