Call for Papers and Artistic Contributions: Global Informality in the Arts
Global Informality in the Arts, 15-16 January 2026, UCL and Pushkin House, London
The conference will examine the role of informality in artistic media, practices, creative labour, and cultural production. It will bring together artists, academics, and cultural practitioners to explore how informal networks, unwritten rules, and hidden practices shape cultural production across different contexts.
At the same time, the accompanying exhibition ‘The Impossible Encyclopaedia: Informality in the Arts’, Pushkin House (January-February 2026, dates TBC), will showcase the artworks already realised that challenge conventional categorisation, exploring themes of decolonisation, visibility/invisibility, subversion, resistance, post-humanity, self-care and environmental care, among others.
The conference and exhibition are organised as part of the interdisciplinary research initiative, Global Informality Project, led by the FRINGE Centre with support from the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies. Since 2014, the project has explored the social and cultural complexity of informal practices worldwide, culminating in the publication of three volumes of The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality (UCL Press, 2018, 2024). All accepted papers could be included in Volume 4.
We welcome proposals for papers and artistic contributions to the following panels: Patterns of Informal Power; Informality and Creative Labour; Lecture Performance and the Edges of Performative Informality; (Secret) Art in the Workplace; Protest Art and Informality; Visibility/Invisibility; Collecting as Art. The conference will take place in a hybrid format, allowing for both face-to-face and online participation. The conference will be held in a hybrid format, allowing for both face-to-face and online participation. However, recognising the limitations of rigid categorisation, we also encourage submissions that make a meaningful contribution to the planned volume of The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality: Informal Art.
Submission guidelines:
We welcome submissions from scholars, artists, and practitioners working on the themes outlined above.
- Deadline for abstract submissions: 1 September 2025
- Abstract length: 250-300 words
- Formats accepted: Papers (15-20 minutes), lecture performances, artistic interventions, and completed artworks (please include photos or websites for exhibition consideration)
- Submit your application to informalart2024@gmail.com
For more information on how to submit a proposal, look at their website.
Image Credits: NO TALKING // NO READING // NO DRAWING, 2019, Simon Farid