Walking Practices / Walking Art conference - call for proposals

Open call for abstracts/art projects, posters for the WALKING PRACTICES/WALKING ART/WALKING BODIES International Encounters/Conference, taking place in Prespes, Greece. July 1st to 7th, 2019

The Department of Fine and Applied Arts of the University of Western Macedonia in Greece is organizing the International Encounters/Conference “WALKING PRACTICES/WALKING ART/WALKING BODIES”. The International Encounters/Conference will be held in the Prespes area Greece. Prespes area, a unique environment with two lakes (Megali Prespa and Mikri Prespa), is the locus where the field research of the walking art project Visual March to Prespes, is taking place. This walking art project is organised by the 1st Painting Workshop of the School of Visual Arts of the University of Western Macedonia. It was initiated in 2007 and the current International Encounters/Conference is a culmination of its activities.

Friday June 28th to Sunday June 30th: Preparation and exploration phase for Walking Encounters.
Monday July 1st to Thursday July 4th 2019: Walking Encounters.
Friday July 5th to Sunday July 7th 2019: Conference.

This Call for Papers, Artistic Projects, Walkshops and Posters intends to elaborate on the aesthetics of walking as an art practice. In contemporary art, the walking practice has become one of the main process of exploring the cultural environment. As a consequence, a Walking Culture has been created, defined by a new realm of aesthetics and related to the interaction of the Body with the Landscape (and vice versa); the artist or the cultural nomad interprets the Landscape as an open field where he/she obtains experiences and, through them, develops ideas, concepts and his/her artwork. A particular set of emotions is created during the experience of walking in the landscape and that shapes a characteristic venue of art expression close to the concepts of Psychogeography.

The papers that will be presented in the Conference (Friday July 5th to Sunday July 7th) will examine the various aspects of walking as a contemporary way of expression and understanding of the social environment and the landscape (urban and rural), where human activity is realized. The papers will also examine the future of walking practice and its potential in art, aesthetics and in its applications in pedagogy.

The art projects and walkshops will be realized during the Walking Encounters from Monday July 1st to Thursday July 4th. The art projects and walkshops will be realized in situ during the Conference. They can refer to the area of Prespes, where the Walking Encounters/Conference will be held, or elaborate on broader issues related to the body of bodies on the move, embodiment, the nomadic process, migration, the concept of home or other aspects of Walking Aesthetics.

There will also be a poster session (Friday July 5th to Sunday July 7th) during the conference on themes related to the Walking Encounters/Conference concept, in which the participants will submit their research design, or art project and findings; i.e., a brief text clearly labeled and illustrated with photos, charts, graphs, tables.

The Walking Encounters is realized in a collaboration of Visual March to Prespes in a shared framework with MADE OF WALKING (V), an international encounter, forum and network of artists, creatives and researchers dedicated to walking and sound practices, with gatherings in Greece, France and Cyprus since 2016 (http://www.themilena.com/made-of-walking).

Main Themes