The call for papers submission deadline has been extended to 4 March 2015.
Motherhood and creative practice:
Maternal structures in creative work
June 1-2, 2015
Confirmed Key Note Speakers:
Professor Bracha L. Ettinger Marcel Duchamp Chair and Professor of Psychoanalysis and Art at the European Graduate School
Professor Mary Kelly Distinguished Professor and Head of the Interdisciplinary Studio Area in the Department of Art at UCLA
Professor Faith Wilding Professor Emerita of Performance at SAIC; and a Visiting Scholar at the Pembroke Center for Feminist Research at Brown University, Providence, RI
Conference Discussant:
Professor Griselda Pollock , Director of Centre for Cultural Analysis, Theory, History, University of Leeds, UK
Motherhood and creative practice: Maternal structures in creative work is an international and interdisciplinary conference that addresses ongoing debates about hospitality, solidarity and encounter as concepts in creative practice, and how they relate to contemporary issues of mothering. Mothering involves commitment to creative balance and combining everyday chores. We are interested how practitioners combine art and mothering, activism and mothering, academia and mothering, science and mothering, mothering and allomothering. The conference will look at practice where the creative exploration, writing and theory about the mOther cannot be separated from one another. Ettinger reveals the intricate connections between critical theory on maternal and creative practice. According to Vigneault, the porous spaces of work that engages with the maternal as concept presents passageways which allow the viewer and reader to move through and between the various levels of text and image, theory and art, in a constant shift between modes of production (2009:69). There is a gradual, yet sustained increase in creative practice which, starting from the challenges posed by the above concepts, explore the maternal in various encounter-event formations. The conference will also look into female experiences and sexual lifestyles that explore the encounters of infertility, medical intervention, adoption and fostering, queer mothering and childlessness by choice or not. We invite scholars and artists to also explore the creative embodiment of intergenerational trauma and the complex territory of mother-daughter relationships, and bring into dialogue social, scientific and artistic perspectives.
The conference will also encompass the exhibition âAlternative Maternalsâcurated by Laura Gonzalez, a curated performance section led by Faith Wildingâs performative reading of her memoirs, and a post-graduate discussion room. The post-graduate room will be enriched with performative texts, films, visual and audio works (we strongly encourage postgraduate students to send proposals and abstracts).
This conference aims to reflect on theoretical, methodological and artistic work that may throw light on motherhood and creative practice. We welcome submissions from scholars, students, artists, mothers and others who research in this area. Cross-cultural, interdisciplinary and comparative work is encouraged. We are open to a variety of submissions including academic papers from all disciplines and creative submissions including visual art, literature, and performance art/performative lectures. We invite papers in English of 15 minutes length, with possible topics including but are not restricted to the above description. We welcome abstracts and proposals for practice-based, creative presentations (300 â 400 words + up to 3 images for practical presentations+ 100 word bio) on a broad range of approaches to the above and related topics.
Abstract and Proposals are to be submitted no later than March 4th, 2015, to Dr Elena Marchevska using the following email: marcheve@lsbu.ac.uk. Proposers will be informed by 6 March 2015 whether their proposal has been accepted.
Conference Registration
A full registration fee includes morning and afternoon break refreshments, two lunches, free entry to exhibition and performances and conference reception event.
Registration for conference will open online on 20 February 2015.
Full Conference Early Bird (by 1 May) Â120.00
Full Conference Â180.00
Full Conference Postgraduate/Unwaged Â65.00
Day Rate Monday 1st June only Â80.00
Note: The conference organisers are please to confirm that the London South Bank University crÃche will be able to offer childcare facilities on campus throughout the conference. In order to ensure that they can cater to the needs of participants and their children, the crÃche require all parents/guardians who are interested in using this service to send email request to marcheve@lsbu.ac.uk before 5 March 2015.