“American Art in a Global Context”
September 28-30, 2006
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Washington, D.C.

This symposium will look at American visual art in a global context -- from circum-Atlantic migrations in the eighteenth century to the impact of European training, trans-Pacific contacts, and immigration patterns on Americans in the late nineteenth century; from the export of U.S. culture and media in the twentieth century to the impact of Latin American, Asian, and other immigrants on the nation’s visual arts in the new millennium. Symposium panels will be thematic and take in all time periods as well as all media and geographic spheres. Papers should in some way address the larger issue of how U.S. art and culture has engaged or can better engage its international context -- through past experience or evolving patterns. The symposium is being funded with a generous grant from the Terra Foundation for American Art in celebration of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s reopening in 2006 after extensive renovations.

Possible Session Themes include:
Artistic Havens Overseas
Immigrants and their Impact on Art in the Americas
When Expatriates Return
International Exchanges
International Perspectives on U.S. Art
The Export of U.S. Culture
Citizens of the World
Studying, Collecting, Exhibiting U.S. Art Abroad
The Future of American Art in a Global Context

Proposals to present conference papers should include a 300-word abstract and a curriculum vita. They should be sent to Amelia Goerlitz, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington D.C. 20013-7012 or via e-mail to SAAMSymposium@si.edu. Proposals must be written in English. Deadline for submissions is January 15, 2006.