Symposium “Event in artistic and political practices” 26-28.03.2013, Amsterdam

In contemporary artistic, media and philosophical discourses the notion of the 'event' has gained considerable currency. Since the 1990s the event has been central to a range of performative, media-based, socially and politically engaged artists' work, as well as in artists' involvement in/with non-artistic projects and practices ranging from political protest to scientific research. The growth of interest towards the potentials of art openly working with reception and/or participation as its methods has also lead to institutional commissions of this type of artistic work. For the institutions event-based art has triggered entirely new questions about the documentation and preservation of artistic practices.

While the concept of the 'event' has been extensively elaborated upon in some fields – for instance, in theatre studies, urban studies and especially in philosophy (Alain Badiou, Brian Massumi, Gilles Deleuze/Felix Guattari), in recent art history and cultural theory, there are still few attempts of theorization.

This conference sets out to articulate the meaning of the 'event' in relation to artistic, media-based and performative cultural practices. We invite presentations articulating the range of performative, conceptual, media-based, game-based, relational, participatory and other practices that can be approached as events. Elaborations on the methodological issues of studying events are also welcomed.

We invite proposals for papers around the topic of event. Papers may include but not be limited by the following themes:

- events as artistic and activist practices

- events and social media

- immateriality and/or materiality of events

- event and neoliberal production of culture

- event as post-fordist paradigm

- curating and mediating events

- event and the hierarchies of the art world

- documenting and archiving of artistic and media-based events

- affect and event

- transformations, transfers and translations of events

- enactment and re-enactment in artistic practices

- artistic and global protest

- event, spectacle and détournement

Please submit abstracts (max 300 words) and a short bio (max 150 words) to eventinpractice@yahoo.com The deadline for submissions is 29 October 2012. Participants will be notified by the end of November.