continent.

continent. is an experiment in collective public-making, a slow-media platform exploring the notion of "détente." For us the delay or pause of détente is an opening in and of contemporary conditions of love and labor in philosophy, art, science, thought, politics, and planetarity. continent. produces event series, special editions, creative, and research-driven publications, carefully, infrequently and irregularly. As a carrier-bag-collection of imaginaries and a constellation in flux, continent. emerges from the attention, care, ideas, and efforts of all the involved writers, artists, editors, superb individuals, beautiful friends, and caring collaborators who have helped shape it over its more than ten-year existence.

Founded in 2011, continent. operates as an experimental publishing collective that produces a publication, event series, on- and off-line special editions, and (historically) scholarly-format journal. Subject matter and topics range from philosophy to media studies, poetry to repair, as subject-specific journal issues are suggested by contributing editors, authors, co-conspirators and friends.

Beginning in 2022, continent. expanded its friendship circle and became centred around the idea of the 'détente', a means of slowing down the collective practices and labours of publishing and cultural production, returning to careful and attentional practices. Détente—as a rest, pause or penultimate repose that occurs, creates and accommodates. Détente, as a stirring of the broth between cultivation and consummation. Détente, as the gap between inhale and exhale that precedes dialogue. Détente, as the snap! of the clapperboard, used in film to realign and integrate picture and sound, intention and action. Détente as the glint of a flashbulb, followed by the high-pitched whine of recharging capacitor. Détente, a break between the word and the thing, revealing the animacy of both. Détente, as the terse, pregnant jubilance between a joke and its punchline. Détente, a becoming, the latent potential of the present moment. Détente, an open invitation to begin, always again, and always together, to tell many other intimate stories of, with, and on this planet.

Aligning with slow-publishing, calm technology and other likeminded motivations, continent. publishes twice yearly a single, central, long form contribution on a given theme and then invites responses from interested and interesting groups and individuals to a reading group/podcast called 'attend'. continent. regularly involves itself in and produces events, encounters, public discussions, and online and offline groups that read, speak, deliberate and practice 'public-making'.