This open call is for the SAVA Conference on the Great Transformation of Nature, organized within the framework of the Socialist Anthropocene in the Visual Arts (SAVA) research project. Proposals are sought for 30 minute papers within and beyond the fields of environmental art history, eco-critical art theory, and research-driven contemporary art practice that explore the transformation of nature under socialism, with a focus on decolonial approaches and non-Western perspectives. The aim is to challenge Western narratives of the Anthropocene and Moscow-centric interpretations of Soviet environmental history, and instead highlight the complex trajectories of Central Asia, the Baltic States, Eastern Europe, East Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
This conference aims to explore how the visual arts reveal the environmental impacts of extractivism, terraforming, and monoculturalization in global socialisms. It examines artistic engagements with mineral extraction, mining, heavy industry, and state socialism's material infrastructures. The conference also investigates art practices that address the social and environmental legacies of the Great Transformation of Nature, and how artistic knowledge can activate eco-socialist epistemologies and nature praxes.
The conference will take place on May 16th–17th. Support for travel and accommodation costs is available. For more information visit SAVA's website.
