DADH 2023: Decentering art and design history: research, practice, education University of Nicosia Nicosia, Cyprus, June 15-17, 2023 |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=dadh2023 |
Abstract registration deadline | February 5, 2023 |
Submission deadline | February 5, 2023 |
Decentering art and design history: research, practice, education
15 – 17 June 2023
Organised by the Art & Design Lab, Department of Design and Multimedia
University of Nicosia, Cyprus
This conference considers the development of art and design history in the Mediterranean region during the twentieth century. It focuses on how colonialism, postcolonialism, conflicting nationalist ideologies and western discourses of modernity have shaped a) the development of historiography, b) the methodological and interpretative approaches, including artistic and curatorial, through which history has been written and c) the narrative forms that have been adopted for its articulation.
Taking into account the example of Cyprus where we are situated, we are interested in how art and design historical knowledge is produced in places that experienced colonialism or acted as colonial powers and where cultural identities were shaped through the perspective of the West. Our main question concentrates on whether we can re-imagine the ways of writing the history of art and design in places ridden by conflicts and cultural clashes, such as the Eastern Mediterranean. How can we adopt a critical approach to Eurocentric thought? Is it even possible to displace the West from its privileged centrality, interrogate its validating institutions and write through a lens where local and inherent characteristics of narrating the history of art and design are appreciated?
We welcome papers on the following, by no means exhaustive, list of questions:
What challenges do we face when writing the history of art and design at a local or regional level?
What does it mean to write art and design history in countries where the disciplines have not yet been institutionalized?
What are the dominant forms and discourses through which knowledge about art and design history is expressed and enacted in ongoing research, publications, and exhibitions?
What are the methodologies and tools that will enable us to reveal, criticize and change the existing ideological frameworks of writing art and design history?
What kind of art and design history is produced in countries where archival resources are scarce and dispersed? What are the challenges researchers face when they engage with colonial archives?
How have different colonial legacies shaped teaching art and design history as well as other related disciplines such as architecture (i.e., curricula, textbooks, other teaching resources)?
How have colonial and postcolonial modernities shaped local art and design practices and the writing of their history?
To what extent the discourses on art and design were nationally framed? How did they underpin the shaping of ethno-national identities social tensions, divisive politics and even conflict?
Can art and design help produce new archives and histories based on multiple epicenters of power instead of privileging one-sided or hegemonic narratives?
How have art and design practices framed colonial/postcolonial transformations on the built environment and the landscape?
The Conference is organised by the Art and Design Research Lab of the Department of Design and Mutlimedia, University of Nicosia. The working language of the conference is English. We welcome proposals for papers and panels of three papers from academics, researchers, practitioners, and postgraduate students. Please submit your abstract (max 300 words) and a short bio by the 15th of January 2023.
All submissions will be double blind peer-reviewed by the conference scientific committee. Following the conference, a proposal to publish selected papers in an edited volume or special issue will be submitted.
Conference convenors:
Elena Parpa (University of Nicosia)
Niki Sioki (University of Nicosia)
Evi Tselika (University of Nicosia)
Scientific Committee
Constantinos Argianas, (Cyprus University of Technology)
Marina Emmanouil (Ghent University)
Maria Hadjiathanasiou (Research Fellow, GNOSIS, Mediterranean Institute for Management Science)
Antigone Heraclidou (Research Associate, Museum Lab MRG, CYENS Centre of Excellence)
Mary Iconiadou (Leeds School of Arts)
Hesperia Iliadou de Subplajo (European Institute of Design, Florence)
Loizos Kapsalis (University of Cyprus)
Vayia Karaiskou (Open University of Cyprus)
Gabriel Koureas, (Birkbeck University of London & University of Nicosia)
Christos Mais (University of Thessaly)
Kosta Mantzalos (Frederick University)
Klimis Mastoridis (University of Nicosia)
Louli Michaelidou (Independent Researcher)
Petros Phokaides (University of Thessaly)
Esra Plumer Bardak (Independent Researcher)
Elena Stylianou (European University Cyprus)
Theopisti Stylianou-Lambert (Cyprus University of Technology)