Art and Action: Contemporary Art and Discourse in Southeast Asia

New modes of artistic production have come to the fore in Southeast Asia since the 1970s. Often responding to fractious social contexts, art has expanded from its officially-circumscribed institutional settings and discourses, intervening into public spaces, tackling social issues, and engaging new audiences. However, while artistic practices have evolved in more critical directions formally and conceptually, art historical debates, mostly borrowed from Euramerican academia and tinged with market deference, have yet to fully consider these developments.

This international conference seeks to develop methodologies from the region in order to provide new insights into seminal artworks, as well more recent artistic expressions that build upon the innovative trajectories established in the 1970s.

The conference will feature keynote presentations from Professor Terry Smith (Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Contemporary Art and Theory, Department of History of Art and Architecture, University of Pittsburgh; Professor, Division of Philosophy, Art and Critical Thought, European Graduate School) and Marian Pastor Roces (Independent curator and social critic).

Thematic Panels and Call for Papers

We invite original 20-minute paper proposals to present on six key thematic panels that address issues and art historical discourses arising out of the particularities of Southeast Asian artistic practice. These panels are:

- Old Codes New Meanings: Aspects of tradition in contemporary Southeast Asian art
- 'Stealing' Public Space: How Southeast Asian contemporary art engages with the city
- Direct Dissemination: Comics and popular media as social practice in Southeast Asia
- Word-play as Clue and Cue: The place of text in contemporary Southeast Asian art
- Not Lagging, sometimes Leading: Tracing the implications of technological parity
- Daring Canon: Assessing art historical narratives of Southeast Asian contemporary art

Papers will be peer-reviewed for inclusion in panels. Selected papers will also be considered for publication in an edited volume following the conclusion of the conference. Participation fee will be waived for selected papers.

Depending on funding, travel and accommodation support may be available for selected participants, based on financial need. Applicants wishing to seek travel support should contact the convening committee at maaahconferencelasalle.edu.sg

Panel Proposal

The organisers also welcome proposals for additional panels, consisting of three to four papers, which develop or expand on the conference themes.

Application

Please visit our website http://www.asianarthistories.com/artandaction to consult the full descriptions of the conference panels, and to apply using the online form. This call for paper is open to all scholars.

- Paper proposals must include a 200 word abstract.
- Panel proposals should consist of a 200 word panel description, as well as a 200 word paper abstract for each participating presenter.

Proposals due 2 April, 2018.

For questions related to the conference or application process, please contact the convening team at maaahconferencelasalle.edu.sg

Organised by:
MA Asian Art Histories Programme, McNally School of Fine Arts

For more information about the MA Asian Art Histories Programme, LASALLE College of the Arts, please visit: http://www.lasalle.edu.sg/programmes/postgraduate/asian-art-histories/