ARTISTS’ COLONIES IN THE WORLD / THE WORLD IN ARTISTS’ COLONIES
CALL FOR PAPERS NOW OPEN
Conference Dates: 28 – 29 November 2022
University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Models for writing art history range between globalised world views, national, regional or local histories, and the enduring individual monograph. None of these, however, can comfortably accommodate the artists’ colony. Colonies usually attract artists from elsewhere, of differing nationalities, brought together in a single geo-spatial frame. They may cohere owing to the appeal of a particular ‘master’, such as Gleizes at Moly-Sabata, or location renowned for natural beauty, such as Pont-Aven or Taos. Alternatively, they may arise from the invitation of a wealthy patron, as at Darmstadt, or the simple expedient of affordable studio accommodation as at Merioola in Sydney or Lina Bryan’s Darebin House in Melbourne. Perhaps even the ubiquitous artist residency can be considered within the frame of the artists’ colony. Regardless, artists’ colonies bring disparate artists into close proximity with one another, generating a wealth of anecdotal records that can obscure or illuminate depending on the adopted model of writing. They also physically occupy a space that is not, by rights, the residents’ own, creating a relationship that often has its own dynamic.
Stemming from a current Australian Research Council Discovery project examining the post- WW2 Abbey Art Centre, in New Barnet, England, we invite researchers working on artists’ colonies from anywhere and of any period to consider the impact of such collectives on an individual artist or the wider artistic community. Possible topics to explore include: the study of a particular artists’ colony or artist or group of artists who have spent time in an artists’ colony; the possibility of an artists’ colony producing an identifiable style shared by its artists; the commonality of or differences between artists’ colonies across a country or continent; the difference between artists’ colonies featuring artists from overseas and Indigenous-run art centres; and the relationship between artists’ colonies and national art history. In particular, we welcome papers that attempt to theorise the artists’ colony as an alternate model for writing art history altogether.
This is a dual-delivery conference, comprising a series of 20-minute presentations followed by questions, with the option of presenting either in person at the University of Melbourne or online.
Possible topics to explore include:
- the study of a particular artists’ colony or artist or group of artists who have spent time in an artists’ colony;
- the possibility of an artists’ colony producing an identifiable style shared by its artists;
- the commonality of or differences between artists’ colonies across a country or continent;
- the difference between artists’ colonies featuring artists from overseas and Indigenous-run art centres;
- and the relationship between artists’ colonies and national art histories.
In particular, we welcome papers that attempt to theorise the artists’ colony as an alternate model for writing art history altogether.
Submissions close: 30 August 2022.
Please send an abstract (max. 200 words), to jleckett@unimelb.edu.au and sheridan.palmer@unimelb.edu.au by 30 August 2022. Please also provide the following details:
- Your name and institutional affiliation.
- Your email address and phone number
- The title of your paper
- Professional biography (max. 100 words)