Call for Papers (deadline 14 June, 2007)

 

Contemporary Barcelona: visual cultures, space and power

 

A two-day conference to be held at the University of London’s Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, London WC1E 7HU with the British Library,

14-15 March, 2008

 

 

This conference seeks to explore the close relationships between visual cultures, space and changing power relations in C20 and C21 Barcelona. It is particularly

interested in artistic and political cultures that use avant-garde and postmodern aesthetics to challenge and disrupt dominant forms of artistic production and uses of urban space. To complement the British Library’s forthcoming exhibition on the European avant-garde there will also be a focus on the legacies of the avant-garde in the city. The organizers would also welcome proposals for short performative contributions from practising artists and performers. Selective publication of proceedings is envisaged.

 

 

Proposals addressing the following areas are welcomed, as are others relevant to the field:

 

• Visual poetry

 

• Disruptive aesthetics

 

• Relationships between aesthetics, play and contestation in, among others

 

• The squatters’ movement
• Anti-globalization and other protests
• Street cultures
• Theatrical and performance cultures
• Contemporary multi-media and digital work
• Responses to the Olympic city (including community and media responses)

 

• The C20 history of avant-garde movements in Barcelona

 

• Legacies of the avant-garde in Barcelona

 

 

300 word abstracts for twenty minute papers in English or in Catalan or Castilian with an English translation should be submitted and copied to all organizers: Carlota Caulfield  [log in to unmask]  Margaret Andrews [log in to unmask] and Helena Buffery [log in to unmask] by Friday 14 June 2007.

 

Please include contact details plus details of your institutional affiliation where relevant with your submission. Early submissions welcomed.  Thank you for your interest.

 

Further enquiries can be directed to the IGRS in the first place via Administrator Rosemary Lambeth [log in to unmask] or Margaret Andrews [log in to unmask]

 

Organizers: Professor Carlota Caulfied, Mills College, California, Dr Margaret Andrews, Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, London and Dr Helena Buffery,University of Birmingham.