Call for papers

We are delighted to announce the eighth Annual Conference of the School of Performing Arts, University of Malta, which will take place online between the 23- 25 March 2022, and to open the call for papers!

The conference considers performance through its mediation, particularly in reference to the technologies, communities, and spaces imbricated in contemporary and historical performance practices. Mediation is here conceived in its broadest sense, encompassing both the physical and digital media of technological (re)production and the mediation between performer and audience, event and community, participation and spectatorship. This conference brings together scholars and practitioners in dance, theatre, and music, undertaking work on the conception, transmission, reception, theorisation, and study of performance. Mediation thus occurs at the interstices of disciplinary practices, necessitating an approach that combines methodologies from the arts, sciences, and humanities.

We invite proposals that engage with any aspect of the conference theme, especially those using inter-and multidisciplinary approaches. Conventional presentations are typically 15-20 minutes plus Q&A, but we also encourage proposals that use any alternative presentation format, such as lecture-recital, collaborative paper, themed session, performance, intervention, etc.

Please note that, in view of health and environmental concerns, and to increase accessibility, the conference will take place online.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

the dissemination of performance and its role in culture and society
interaction between performance and community
the impact of digital technologies in performance practice
the intersection of race, gender, and class in questions of access and inclusion in performance
historical or ethnographical examples of mediated performances
physical media and material agency
performance and wellbeing, or performance as therapy
public and private social spaces of performance
the ‘liveness’ of performance and its cultural value
politics and poetics of traditional and non-traditional venues of performance, including performance art, opera, experimental theatre, and other forms.

Proposals should include an abstract of c. 300 words, name(s), institutional affiliation (if any), email address(es), brief biography (additional 125 words maximum), and details of presentation format (including duration), and should be submitted by Friday, 17 December 2021 to the conference convenors.

Acceptance will be confirmed in January 2022.

Should you have any questions related to the conference or your proposal, you are requested to contact either of the convenors.

Conference Convenors

Dr Jeremy Coleman
Lecturer, Department of Music Studies, School of Performing Arts, University of Malta
Email

Dr Max Erwin
Lecturer, Department of Music Studies, School of Performing Arts, University of Malta
Email