CALL FOR PAPERS 

International Conference 

Art Without Borders: The Avant-garde Networks of the Twentieth Century 

Conference Date: 20 June 2024 

Venue: University of Leeds 

Contact email: conference.avantgarde@gmail.com

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 19 February 2024

We are thrilled to announce a one-day conference focusing on the under-explored avant-garde networks that have significantly influenced the cultural and artistic landscape for over a century. Starting from 1916, the birth year of the Dada movement in Zurich, we aim to delve into the lesser-known and continually expanding network of artistic relations within and beyond Europe. Our conference is also focusing on previous avant-garde movements such as Expressionism, Futurism, and others, and their connections to other continents. By doing so, one of the objectives of this conference is to examine the worldwide effects and influence of these movements beyond both geographical and cultural limitations.

We invite scholars, researchers, practitioners, and students worldwide to submit their original research and innovative applications. Our goal is to examine these connections beyond the Eurocentric frame, including those established between Europe and Africa, Latin and North America, Asia and Australia.

In the aftermath of the First World War, avant-garde artists have created spaces for performance, publication, creation, and dialogue. These venues were platforms for reciting poetry, producing collages, textile works, printed matter and more. Rooted in interdisciplinarity, they seamlessly blended life and art, incorporating explorations of philosophy, politics, mathematics, and mysticism into their works.

We are particularly interested in papers that explore collaborative projects spanning different mediums, disciplines, languages, and generations. Practices such as performance, experimental poetry, and collage have been used to transcend borders of traditional definitions of art and cultural practice and establish new forms of artistic networks.

Conference Themes:

● Global Impact of Avant-Garde Movements: This theme could focus on the worldwide effects and influence of avant-garde movements, such as Expressionism and Futurism, beyond geographical and cultural limitations.

● Intercontinental Artistic Networks: This theme could delve into the connections established between Europe and Africa, Latin America, and Australia, examining these networks beyond the Eurocentric frame.

● Collaborative Projects and New Artistic Networks: This theme could focus on collaborative projects spanning different mediums, disciplines, languages, and generations and how practices such as performances, experimental poetry, and collages have been used to transcend the boundaries of traditional art definitions.

● Post-War Avant-Garde Spaces: This theme could examine the spaces created by avant-garde artists for performance, publication, creation, and dialogue in the aftermath of the First World War.

● Avant-garde networks and feminism: This theme could examine the role of marginal figures, including, for example, female artists such as Céline Arnauld or Gabrièle Buffet-Picabia, in the creation of avant-garde networks.

● Avant-garde networks and technology: This theme could explore the dynamic relationship between avant-garde movements and technological advancements, investigating how technology influenced and shaped artistic innovations within these networks.