This conference seeks to explore the complex and evolving relationship between (visual) arts, participation in public space, and art-based institutions and organisations through the lens of cultural democracy, where art is not just for the elite or professionally trained but a practice open to all members of society.

The central notion of the conference is citizens’ engagement in decision-making at different levels of art-based projects in public spaces or institutional / organisational settings - from initiation and planning to design and implementation.

By encouraging participation and dialogue, visual arts can help to foster greater social cohesion, challenge dominant narratives, and amplify the voices of individuals and communities that might otherwise go unheard. Through collective creativity, visual arts can spark change, inspire action, and build bridges between people from diverse backgrounds, reinforcing the notion that art is not just something to be admired from afar, but something to be experienced, shared, and lived. However, participation in art is not without challenges, so it is also important to critically examine the underlying assumptions, power dynamics, ethical implications, and implications for cultural production.

We encourage submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:
- Community Empowerment and Development – how art and art-based projects empower marginalised communities, produce urban commons, etc.
- Collaborative and Co-Creative Art Forms – new collaboration models between artists and communities in creating meaningful cultural expressions, etc.
- Art as Social Change – exploring the potential of art to challenge dominant power structures and facilitate social transformation, solidarity, social integration etc.
- Institutional Practices and User Involvement – innovative curatorial or managerial strategies and educational programs promoting co-creation, participative management, collaborative learning, etc.
- Technology and Participation – using digital tools and virtual spaces for participatory art forms and community involvement.
- Critical views on participation – approaches of critical, postcolonial or feminist theories to the understanding of participation, ethical dimensions of participation in art, issues of representation, consent, authenticity, exploring boundaries between the artist and participants, value of the work, artistic integrity, autonomy, etc.
- Historical Perspectives – the evolution of participation in art and museum contexts throughout history, tracing the roots of participatory art practices in relation to earlier art movements, etc.

We invite contributions that present theoretical views, research findings, academic analyses or real-world projects (case studies) by a range of scholars (in art, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, urban studies…) as well as, artists and cultural practitioners (museum and gallery professionals, art/culture mediators).

The languages of the conference are English and Croatian.

Submission Guidelines:
Abstracts (up to 400 words) and biographies (up to 200 words) should be sent by 15 May 2025 through a Google form on the conference website: https://partim.ffzg.unizg.hr.
The conference fee is 70 euro per participant.

Contributors will receive notification of acceptance by 30 May 2025. More information about the conference (deadlines, venue, …) can be found on the conference website.

Authors of the abstracts selected for presentation are invited to submit a full paper for inclusion in the conference proceedings.