“And Who Is My Neighbor?” Refuge, Sanctuary, and Representation in Modern Art and Visual Culture

In February 2026, we are pleased to present a day-long symposium, as well as a session at the 114th annual CAA Conference, taking place during the same week.

February 17, 2026, in partnership with the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology (DePaul University) will hold a day-long symposium. We welcome proposals that consider the ways in which visual culture has interpreted, challenged, or reimagined the ideals of refuge and hospitality within religious and intercultural frameworks. How have artistic practices responded to religious calls to welcome the stranger? In what ways do images negotiate the tensions between inclusion and exclusion, faith and politics, identity and alterity? How do modern and contemporary artworks embody, resist, or reinterpret Christian and other religious conceptions of community, care, and obligation? Proposals that engage Catholic visual cultures or interpretive frameworks, perspectives from the Global South, or comparative interreligious approaches are especially encouraged. Due October 15, 2025.

February 18 to 21, 2026, CAA’s Annual Conference takes place in Chicago, IL. We invite proposals for our annual ASCHA session (date/time TBC). We invite proposals examining artistic representations of neighborliness, inclusion, and exclusion in various religious and cultural traditions from the 20th century to the present. How have artists engaged with the themes of hospitality, belonging, and social responsibility? In what ways do contemporary artistic practices challenge, subvert, or reaffirm religious conceptions of community and care? How do religious iconographies and theological discourses shape contemporary responses to the ethical dilemmas of our time? Due August 29, 2025.

Find more information here.