CIIC 22: Counter-Image International Conference 2022 Colégio Almada Negreiros, Universidade Nova de Lisboa Lisboa, Portugal, July 13-15, 2022 |
Conference website | https://counter-image.netlify.app/?fbclid=IwAR1ZOk4Jeb7eWdGsxToYm7GTZsthRljnF_bY9I3iZeNQuF2F-K2WNHh_gSk |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ciic22 |
Abstract registration deadline | March 31, 2022 |
Submission deadline | April 22, 2022 |
Decolonizing visuality: working towards sustainable sociocultural practices
The second edition of the International Conference on the Counter Image proceeds the work of unveiling the ways in which images operate within the power and knowledge structures and the systems of truth (Foucault) which tend to constitute hegemonic historical narratives and marginalize or erase those that are conflicting or minoritarian. This originates not only “centres” and “margins” but also tends to silence voices and invisibilise people, making certain ideias unpronounced. Being a historical process, it demands continuous criticism in line with many scholars and artists working in Visual Culture, Gender Studies and Cultural Studies traditions in the various disciplines. Establishing counter narratives, counter archives and counter images is then a challenge to hegemonic social, cultural and political systems and a contribution to a much needed dialogue around themes that are difficult and complex, in view of a pluralist, diverse and balanced society.
In a world still deeply marked by colonial images and worldviews, in which the production and mass distribution of visual technologies has contributed to the naturalization of oppressive systems, making the underlying visual codes almost invisible, this edition wishes to debate colonial visual heritage and how it impacts the world today.
The conference raises many of the questions we wish to discuss, such as: from the centre of the “Metropolis” to the periphery of the “Colonies”: how did images, in particular photography and film, reinforce these unbalanced places and disseminate within them? How do images contribute to shaping the past and the present? What can be done to decolonize the archives, museums and centres of knowledge? How is it possible to integrate other forms of knowledge and knowledge production? What is the role of the arts and artistic practices? Which were the visual practices of those who were colonized? How are the contemporary visual practices of postcolonial authors shaping societies? How important are vernacular images to this discussion? What is the role of global media systems such as social media, television and journalism? How can images contribute to a more sustainable and equitable world? The writer Chinua Achebe spoke of a “balance of stories”, we ask how important is a balance of images and what are their affordances in relation to textual accounts?
In short, the scope of the conference includes, but is not limited to the following topics:
- Colonial visual culture and strategies for decolonization
- Colonial and postcolonial photography and film
- Museums and colonial heritage
- Social sustainability and image practices
- Counter-hegemonic narratives
- Visual Culture of the “colonial sciences”
- Archive dynamics in relation to counter-power and counter-memory
- Artistic practices as resistance
- The use of vernacular images and processes in artistic production
- Ecocriticism in visual practices