CFP - Congreso Internacional Hacedoras de cultura. Conexiones e intercambios artísticos transatlánticos en el siglo XX.

In the 20th century, the Atlantic became a setting for successive displacements, resulting in complex cultural and artistic exchanges. The ocean emerged as a shared space of experiences and a site of common histories shaped by the wounds of colonialism and its enduring power dynamics. Migrations, exiles, and journeys across the Atlantic fostered a cultural dialogue crucial to contemporary artistic practices. However, traditional historiography has largely overlooked the contributions of women in this context.

For this reason, the International Conference Women as Cultural Producers: Transatlantic Artistic Connections and Exchanges in the 20th-Century invites critical reflection on the roles played by women and dissident groups in shaping cultural and artistic dynamics – including visual and sound arts – between Europe and Latin America, from critical, transcultural, and feminist perspectives. Transatlantic interactions during the turbulent twentieth century unfolded amid economic crises and authoritarian regimes, which propelled processes of migration, exile, and the pursuit of creative strategies to survive and subvert adverse circumstances and imbalances. Adopting an intersectional and critical lens to study cultural productions by women artists provides an innovative perspective on this heterogeneous diasporic space. This approach enables us to rewrite art and cultural histories through notions of contact, displacement, and resistance.
 
As part of a collective effort to reconstruct a more inclusive, plural, and situated cultural memory, we propose exploring these processes through the lenses of cultural studies, art history, music history, and related disciplines. We welcome proposals from emerging and established scholars, as well as doctoral students, that address the role of female creators and their cultural production in connection with the following topics:

1. Networks and Spaces of Exile
2. Non-Hegemonic Artistic Practices
3. Recovering Overlooked Figures
4. Transcultural Dialogues in the Visual and Sound Arts
5. Sound Art and Music

This international conference marks the final event of the I+D+i research project HACEDORAS – Women as Cultural Producers: Artistic Transatlantic Connections and Exchanges in the 20th Century (PID2022-142633OA-I00), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the State Research Agency, and FEDER funds “A way of making Europe.” The project is directed by Carmen Gaitán Salinas (Institute of History, Spanish National Research Council – CSIC). Marsha Meskimmon (Loughborough University, United Kingdom) will deliver the keynote lecture. Conference panels will be preceded by short
framing lectures delivered by international experts and complemented by a program of concerts and listening sessions. Highlights include the premiere of a piece by contemporary composer Marisa Manchado, based on poems by exiled artist Manuela Ballester; a concert by guitarist Samuel Diz, devoted to 20th-century transatlantic women composers; and a concert/listening session by Menhir, an ambient and experimental music collective formed by artists Coco Moya and Iván Cebrián. These performances will encourage reflection on the role of women as cultural producers at the intersection of music and visual arts.

HACEDORAS aims to foster a space for dialogue among scholars and to build academic and artistic networks that support research from critical gender and transcultural perspectives. A collective volume featuring a selection of contributions from the conference is planned for publication.
 
Proposals for participation must include:
- Title and summary (300 words in English or Spanish) of the research to be presented, indicating the section.
- Short biography (150 words) including personal details (full name, affiliation, and email address).

Please send your proposals as a single PDF document to congresohacedoras.es before December 15, 2025. Notifications of acceptance will be sent on February 1, 2026.