Since the late nineteenth century, with Jacob Rijs and Lewis Hine as many others from all over the world, photography has been a medium for denouncing injustice, claiming for better life means and helping revolutionary causes. As a natural consequence of its documental nature it became the privileged medium for contemporary art that aim to challenge political and social establishment. This conference will explore photographic creation as a social and leftist weapon and its publics all along the twentieth and twentiethfirst century. It aims to examine the relationship between documentary photography, human causes and social ideals, class and political commitment, social and economical criticism. It will consider photographic practices and their production of both publics and politics, thinking specifically about the relationship between Leftist practices and the mainstream. It will be accompanied by a film projection program at the Museum of Chiado – Museum of Contemporary Art in Lisbon, the site where the conference will take place on 16 and 17 June 2016. We invite paper submission of no more than 500 words abstract that focuses on photography related to:
social work
revolutionary causes
colonial and postcolonial
political fights
the role of images in leftist campaigns
photography and ideology
contemporary art photography and social criticism
Keynote speakers
Jorge Ribalta (confirmed)
Steve Edwards (tbc)
Conference Venue & Dates Museum of Chiado (MNAC) – Museum of Contemporary Art in Lisbon 16-17 June 2016 Languages Portuguese, Spanish and English Please send your abstracts by 12th April 2016 to: patrikia.leal@gmail.com lorenakrs@gmail.com
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas (UNL/FCSH) & Cic.Digital FCSH (Centre for research in communication, information and digital culture) & Institute of Contemporary History / FCSH (IHC/FCSH)