Venezia Arti (VA) is a journal of the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. VA was founded in 1987 by Wladimiro Dorigo and Giuseppe Mazzariol, a new series directed by Silvia Burini and Giovanni Maria Fara begins in 2019.

The journal welcomes scholars of all disciplines focusing on the arts and encourages an interdisciplinary and international approach, capable of systematically and critically doing research on events and problems in the artistic culture. VA aims to become a sound reference point for medieval, modern and contemporary art, visual and performing arts, and all the main themes of the international methodological debate.

The journal is annual and undergoes a double-blind peer review. It is recognized as a scientific journal for the fields 08 (Architecture) and 10 (Antiquities, Philology, Literary Studies, Art History) and it is indexed in Scopus. Since 2014, the journal is published in a digital (open access) edition by Edizioni Ca’ Foscari. It is characterised by thematic calls and a miscellaneous section in which contributions of young emerging scholars are very well accepted.

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Call for papers Venezia Arti 2024, vol. 33

Thematic call Cross-pollination: Art, Contamination and Hybridisation from the Middle Ages to the Present and 'Alia Itinera' miscellaneous section

In botany, cross-pollination refers to a natural event whereby pollen is transported from one flower to another through the mechanical action of the wind, an insect or any other unpredictable agent. Hence, the combinatorial possibilities which guarantee the survival of a species are numerous. Among them, moreover, many cases of contamination from one species to another are harbingers of hybridisation phenomena: it can happen that, instead of predefined reproductive paths, original and unexpected forms develop (Stefano Mancuso, L'incredibile viaggio delle piante, Bari, 2018; but also The Florence Experiment, a project devised by Stefano Mancuso and Carsten Höller, Florence, Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, 2018). Having made due distinctions, cross-fertilisation of genres, themes, scientific and methodological approaches have always been a source of enrichment in the field of knowledge and in the world of art. Its contribution accelerates processes and innovates language, both in the creative dimension and on the level of criticism.

In the light of this premise, a protean picture of the Arts and Art History emerges, a terse mirror of complexity as a parameter which disrupts the logic of taxonomy, scientific sectoriality or techniques, broadening the horizon to the issues of multidisciplinarity and interculturality within the artistic expressions of the different historical periods.

In continuity with the topic of the previous issue –which was dedicated to the investigation of metamorphosis as subject or process– this call wishes to continue a critical reflection in the vast field of art-historical research, whether theoretical or historiographical, iconographic or technical-formal, without neglecting the universe of the performing arts (theatre, music, cinema). The invitation is now aimed at writing on the theme of contamination, in the positive meaning of the term, i.e. in reference to its disruptive effect within the creative dimension, in moments, aspects, works, personalities of the History of the Arts, from the Middle Ages to the Present. Particular attention will be paid to contributions hinging on conjunctural phenomena, of rupture, osmosis, exchange, translation, indeed of 'cross-pollination'.

Expressive forms that can be interpreted as ruptures or openings, between unprecedented paths that reconfigure inherently codified languages; processes and events as tools for relocating knowledge practices; convergences of genres and exhibition formats, solo and group shows, thematic and historical exhibitions, biennials and festivals; the emergence of new modes of experience and spectatorship: these are just some of the possible approaches, all of which focus on a concept that is both elusive and poignant by nature.

The theme in question can be investigated on multiple fronts: in the field of architecture, in the visual dimension of the arts and in the techniques. There are countless cases of exchange and circulation of artistic knowledge that, thanks to trade, territorial conquests and the recruitment of artists across borders, affected the Euro-Mediterranean area and the Asian continent since the Middle Ages (as repeatedly emerged in the "Convegni di Parma" promoted by Arturo Carlo Quintavalle), and from the modern age onwards, can be found worldwide. In the words of critic Piotr Piotrowski, the opening up of new horizons, and the breaking down of borders and curtains, shows the necessity of a "spatial turn" able of generating a "horizontal" approach to art history. A new approach that has to be understood no longer as a vertical narration, dictated by one-way influences from the centre to the periphery, but rather by transversal, reciprocal and multidirectional transfers of knowledge within a dialogic and polycentric structure.

As is now customary, the 2024 issue will also welcome a number of contributions outside the monographic theme, in the specific section Alia itinera.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS:
Abstract of approx. 2000 characters (including spaces), in the language of the article, with a title proposal.
Only proposals from scholars holding a Ph.D may be considered.

ABSTRACT DEADLINES:
Abstracts deadline: 12 May 2024
Notification of accepted abstracts: 31 May 2024

CALL FOR SELECTED PAPERS:
The issue can accept up to 10 contributions.
The essay must be written according to the editorial standards of the journal.
Admissible length: between 30,000 and 40,000 characters, including spaces and footnotes (not included in the final count: abstract, captions, bibliography).

The essay must also include
-an abstract in English of approx. 1000 characters including spaces;
-5 keywords in English;
-a final, complete bibliography, written in alphabetical order according to Edizioni Ca' Foscari editorial standards;
-image captions including photo credits.

Illustrations: max 10 images, in Jpeg format, 300 dpi resolution, with specification of credits already paid or authorised.
Languages allowed: Italian, English, French.

DEADLINES FOR ARTICLES
Deadline for the final version: 1 September 2024;
Publication of the issue by 20 December 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Please contact venezia.artiunive.it.