Musea Brugge and the Academia Belgica are pleased to announce the conference “(Re)searching connections. Artists’ international social networks, 1750-1914” to be held at the Academia Belgica in Rome on 30 September and 1 October 2025. We are currently inviting papers proposals, with a submission deadline of 15 February 2025.

The two-day international academic conference will critically examine the formation and function of artists’ transnational social networks, while also exploring new research possibilities enabled by digital methodologies. Embracing a broad chronological and geographical scope, we invite insights spanning the long nineteenth century and various contexts worldwide. We are excited to confirm two esteemed keynote speakers: France Nerlich (Musée d'Orsay) and Giovanna Ceserani (Stanford University).

Possible topics for consideration include, but are not limited to:
• The impact of artists’ networks on educational and professional development, with a focus on artistic training abroad, intergenerational exchanges, mentorship, patronage, and/or the role of academies and other institutions.
• The complex interplay of identity and community in artists’ networks, which can encompass émigré artists, artist’s colonies, the influence of gender, social class and family ties, the physical spaces of sociability, and interpersonal dynamics such as collaboration, competition, emulation, and a sense of belonging.
• Processes of artistic exchange and adaptation in artist’s networks, whether influenced by cross-cultural interaction or by historical shifts and events such as the rise of nationalistic ideologies, regime change, warfare, and colonialism.
• The representation and documentation of artist’s networks, with attention to contemporary artworks, visual media, and written historical source material, as well as the digital approaches that enable the visualization and analysis of social networks today.

Please visit our website for the conference details, including the full Call for Papers and the submission form: https://www.museabrugge.be/collecties/bron/bron_academy/researching_connections.

Submission procedure:
We invite proposals for 20-minute papers in English or French. If presenting in French, please provide accompanying materials in English.
Please fill out the submission form on our website by 15 February 2025 and include a single PDF file with the following components:
• A 100-word biography of the author
• A 300-word abstract
• 1 or 2 relevant images (e.g. artworks, archival documents, data visualization)

Selection criteria: Proposals will be evaluated based on relevance, clarity, novelty, and contribution to the field. We seek papers that reflect critically on the source material and methodologies employed.

Submission deadline: 15 February 2025
Notification of acceptance: end of March 2025

Contact: for more info, e-mail Marie Vandeghinste at marie.vandeghinstebrugge.be.

We look forward to receiving interesting paper proposals!