From 14th to 30th October 2021, all over Liege, we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Voix De Femmes Festival! Thirty is the number of moons of the planet Saturn, but it’s also a round number, which invites us to reflect on our identities. The main theme of this festival, subtitled “dis/continue”, will be our heritage: what we should pursue, question, transform, and, ourselves, pass on.
But, as (for)ever, the exploration will be through the eyes of our favourite artists and thinkers: those who push the limits with daring and curiosity.
With music, cinema, dance, storytelling, workshops and meetings, literature, exhibitions… See you at the end of the summer to find out everything about the programme! In the meantime, join our Facebook event and follow us on social media (please!).
→ Festival Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
A poster that already dis/continues
For some things, we continued without asking even the slightest question: for the third time, the visual of the festival is by Cécile Barraud de Lagerie and Take Shape Studio!
For this edition, Cécile (colourist, illustratress, and multi-faceted designer) has developed an abstract and contrasting approach. It’s about movement, links and rhythms, and echoes the thousand keywords that have inhabited our anniversary projects: re/link, re/tie and extend, align and unwind, walk and divert, subvert and climb, assemble and transmit ... You can also project a time line, or a computer progress/loading bar. And then there is this magnificent green from which everything started, loaded with ambiguity, between movement, vitality and calm. It is the green of plants, of living things, but also of luck, of the playground, of chance, in short, of action and surprise! Highly contrasted with the archaic white/black/red trio, it is tempered by pale blue, mauve, and mint green. And finally, the whole thing oscillates between a dynamic structure and abstract landscapes (we hope not to be the only ones to see magical bridges there).
For the graphics, Take Shape Studio has selected two typefaces: Tongari and Lelo. Tongari was created by graphic designer and calligrapher Émilie Rigaud. She runs one of the rare French foundries, "A is for...", where she creates typographies inspired by Japanese calligraphy. Tongari means "pointed" in Japanese. As for Lelo, it was created by the German graphic designer and typographer Katharina Köhler and her studio Camelot Typefaces.
Lines that connect
For the scenography of the Festival, on the other hand, this is a first: we have the chance to collaborate with Florence Monfort (Assistant at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Liège at the scenography workshop) and her BAC 1 students. . For several months now, the group has been working to bring to life the visual created by Cécile Barraud de Lagerie. On the basis of the different concepts developed by the illustrator, as well as the theme of the festival, the students were led to think about possible means and supports: fabrics, sewing, printing techniques or even paint applied directly to fabric.
A word from Florence: “Working with BAC 1 was a real challenge, it was their very first experience, I usually work with BAC 2 on this kind of project outside the workshop. We didn't get the visual right away, so the students first worked on the concepts and the continue/discontinue subtitle: a complicated exercise in itself. And the lockdown made the process rather rock'n'roll. Once the visual was finished, we worked in the form of a workshop for whole days and it was easier: the group was finally able to work collectively, together, which was great. The project allowed them to meet and forced them to work together, to get to know each other. Visiting the different places where the installations will be installed was also a real discovery for some. Carrying out this project was an opportunity to go from 2D to 3D, which is a great exercise and put a sparkle in their eyes. It's rewarding to work on something concrete, and the group is delighted to see the project in place during the festival!”
See you in October to see it all for real! We look forward to seeing you again.
