[spectre] CFP: Inclusion/Exclusion (Johannesburg, 11-13 Nov 26)

[Andreas Broeckmann]

From: Brenda Schmahmann
Date: Jan 17, 2026
Subject: CFP: Inclusion/Exclusion (Johannesburg, 11-13 Nov 26)

University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa, Nov 11–13, 2026
Deadline: Mar 15, 2026

Inclusion/Exclusion:: Redressing a lack of representativity in public 
art, monuments, museums and exhibitions.

This is a call for papers for a conference hosted by the SARChI Chair in 
South African Art and Visual Culture at the University of Johannesburg. 
It is envisaged that the conference will begin on the early afternoon of 
11 November and will end at lunchtime on 13 November. Selected papers 
from the conference will be developed into either a special issue of a 
journal or an edited volume.

The keynote speaker for the conference is Erika Doss, Edith O’Donnell 
Distinguished Chair at the University of Texas at Dallas, USA.

THEME

Debates about historical monuments and statuary have often centred on 
their glorification of the agendas and ideals of privileged and powerful 
individuals and groups. And as movements such as #RhodesMustFall and 
#BlackLivesMatter have made clear, they often in fact venerate 
individuals and events that have been involved to a greater or lesser 
extent in social and political wrongdoings. Much emphasis in the making 
and commissioning of contemporary public art and monuments is 
consequently directed at countering the preponderance of works 
associated with authoritarianism, injustices or biases with 
representations of leaders or events associated with resistance against 
oppression or prejudice. A similar orientation is often at play in 
museums and exhibitions. There is increased recognition that processes 
of collecting have been embroiled in acts of oppression, or how racial, 
gendered and class prejudice have historically underpinned both 
collecting and curatorial practices. As in the domains of public art or 
heritage sites, museums often reconfigure their collections to remedy 
past injustices or omissions. Curators are focused on producing 
exhibitions that challenge the biases or occlusions that may have shaped 
displays historically, instead giving focus to the perspectives of 
different groups and social sectors.

Accompanying such reckonings about injustices and exclusions that have 
shaped representation, collecting and curating, and redressing them, has 
been a focus on attracting and accommodating diverse viewers.  In the 
domain of public art, new works may be conceptualised with strategies in 
mind for actively involving viewers and recognising their potentially 
varied positionalities. Or works have been developed spontaneously or 
informally in response to popular sentiment. Likewise, heritage sites 
have been devised or reconfigured to enable viewer involvement as well 
as diversify audiences. Similar concerns often underpin contemporary 
exhibitions or the displays of collections in museums. Rather than 
viewing exhibitions as narrowly didactic, curators may devise them to be 
interactive, affective, or with open-ended meanings. There is also 
increased awareness of the varied positionalities of viewers and how 
this may inform their experiences of exhibitions. A prevalence of 
trigger warnings at recent exhibitions not only speaks to increased 
sensitivity to how viewers may respond to works: it is also underpinned 
by contemporary recognition that visitors bring diverse experiences to 
the viewing process.

In this conference, we are seeking papers that critique exclusionary 
tropes or practices in public art, monuments, heritage sites or museums, 
and which explore initiatives to remedy or challenge these omissions or 
marginalisations. Discussion may be focused on who or what is afforded 
recognition and exposure, and who or what may be omitted or obscured, 
and how these scenarios are challenged. Or the emphasis might be on 
viewer involvement and on how recent initiatives endeavour to be more 
inclusive in their approach and to offer ways of experiencing public 
art, monuments or museums that take cognisance of diversity.

We are especially interested in proposals that identify and consider 
complexities involved in enabling inclusion. For example, are there some 
kinds of monuments, heritage sites and museums that cannot readily be 
recuperated/reworked towards progressive ends and, if so, how have they 
been managed? What are the challenges posed by groups with vested 
interests in monuments and museums who resist reinterpretations of their 
narratives?  Are there thus instances in which corrective steps towards 
inclusion necessarily generate new forms of exclusion within public art, 
museums or heritage spaces, and what are the consequences? Also, what 
happens when redress becomes mainstream? Are decolonial, reparative or 
participatory strategies able to retain their critical force once they 
are absorbed into institutional policy, curatorial programming, 
collecting or public art commissioning? Or (an antithetical question): 
what happens when decolonial, reparative or participatory strategies are 
no longer officially sanctioned? Papers that address difficult questions 
– whether these or others – are especially welcome.

PROPOSAL

A prospective presenter is invited to offer a 30-minute paper focused on 
any geographical setting worldwide. We encourage focused engagement with 
issues through specific case studies rather than broad surveys. 
Presenters may in fact want to focus on just one monument, public 
artwork, heritage site, museum or exhibition.

Papers must be in English.

Papers must be on material that has not already been published. A 
prospective presenter must also be willing to develop the proposed paper 
into an article or chapter of a book emanating from the conference, 
should it be selected for potential inclusion in this publication.

Please submit your proposal with “Inclusion/Exclusion” in the subject 
line, and send it to , Brenda Schmahmann (brendas at uj.ac.za) and Irene 
Bronner (ireneb at uj.ac.za), also copying it to the administrator at the 
offices of the SARChI Chair of South African Art and Visual Culture, 
Neelofir Nagdee (nnagdee at uj.ac.za), by 15 March 2026. Please submit a 
single WORD document with the following information:
1.    a title for your paper
2.    an abstract between 350 and 500 words in length for a 30-minute paper
3.    a short biography, including your current institutional 
affiliation (up to 200 words)
4.    your contact details, i.e. e-mail address, postal address, mobile 
phone number
5.    a statement confirming that your paper has not been previously 
published and that, should it be selected, you would be willing to 
develop it into an article or book chapter emanating from the conference.

Applicants will be notified of decisions by the end of March.

FUNDING

Presenters will need to organise and pay for their own travel costs to 
the University of Johannesburg. However, international presenters and 
those from out of town will be provided with bed & breakfast 
accommodation sponsored by the host on the evenings of 11 and 12 
November 2026. Additionally, there will be no conference fee, and meals 
and transport within Johannesburg during the conference will be provided 
by the host. A post-conference outing to an exhibition or museum, paid 
for by the host, will be organised for the afternoon of 13 November.


Reference / Quellennachweis:
CFP: Inclusion/Exclusion (Johannesburg, 11-13 Nov 26). In: ArtHist.net, 
Jan 17, 2026. <https://arthist.net/archive/51420>.