Since its very beginnings, professional as well as non-professional photographers have used photography in Central and Eastern Europe to record all aspects of life. Photography has thus participated in spreading and shaping knowledge about the region, its people, and the rest of the world. In spite of the central role photography has played in the diverse socio-cultural environments of Central and Eastern Europe, research on its history in this part of the continent is still little appreciated and remains understudied. The 2018 conference in Ljubljana will be the third in a series of international conferences initiated in Warsaw in 2016 with the aim of developing and promoting interdisciplinary studies about photography and its histories in the region.
In 2018, we seek to enhance understandings of the mechanisms and realities that have influenced the development of local photographic practices and their relationship with uses of photography elsewhere. We also aspire to expand knowledge about social and cultural customs that facilitated the circulation and legacies of photographs throughout the medium’s history in the region. Paper proposals may therefore address a range of interrelated topics, including but not limited to:
The history and state of photographic collections/archives, the opportunities they present and the challenges they face
The history and state of local research practices and academic discourses on photography (research topics, theory and methodology)
The circulation of photographs and photographic images in public and private spheres and their impact on collective imaginations in Central and Eastern Europe (e.g. the uses of photography in art, media, politics…)
We invite proposals for 20-minute presentations from scholars working in areas such as: photography, art history and theory, visual sociology, anthropology, museology, philosophy, ethnography, cultural studies, visual and media studies, communications, and fine and graphic arts.
To propose a paper, please send your abstract (no less than 250 and no more than 300 words including the title) by the 31st December 2017 to photographycee@liberproarte.eu
In addition, please include a short biographical note of no more than 150 words with full affiliation, the title of your presentation and contact details as a separate document.
