CFP: Art and Social Practice in Eastern Europe after Socialism

We are pleased to announce call for paper proposals for the panel “Art and Social Practice in Eastern Europe after Socialism”, which will be a part of the 2016 Conference of the Universities Art Association of Canada (UAAC). The conference will take place on 27–30 OCT. 2016 UQÀM, Montréal http://www.uaac-aauc.org/montreal-2016

The deadline for paper proposals is June 24, 2016

After the collapse of Communism in 1989, former Soviet-bloc countries faced the urge to reintegrate art practice into the international art scene in order to revive national traditions as well as to reassess the Communist past. Nowadays, artists explore art as social practice, commenting on political and post-colonial activism, gender, and environmental issues, and addressing their concerns to a global audience. Eastern European artists deliberately or implicitly reframe the historical experience of former Socialist societies that had been developed under the Marxist ideas of a non-hierarchical society, social order in culture, and politically engaged art. How is the concept of socially significant, class-specific art now implemented and/or contested by artists and audience? We encourage scholars and art practitioners to reflect on how Socialist cultures influenced the contemporary cultural exchange. We invite prospective panelists to link the contemporary social agenda in art to the Socialist ideological background and intellectual legacy of post- Socialist countries. The organizers expect to bring together diverse approaches to the Socialist/social agenda of the past and its influence on visual culture of post-Socialist societies in a global perspective.

Please, submit your paper proposals (150 words) and short one-page bios/CV to the session chairs:
Hanna Chuchvaha, Sessional Instructor/Independent scholar, University of Alberta
Maria Silina, Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, Université du Québec à Montréal