ACASA

Arts Council of the African Studies Association

Call for Papers: Methodological Approaches to Researching Modern Art by African Women Artists

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Call for Presentation Abstracts:
Towards the CAA 114th Annual Conference (18-21 Feb. 2026), we now welcome the submission of presentation abstracts for the session “Methodological Approaches to Researching Modern Art by African Women Artists.”

—Session convened remotely—

Session Chairs:
Nomusa Makhubu (Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town), and Claudia Marion Stemberger (Department of Art History at the University of Delaware)

Session Abstract:
The rise of the contemporary in both research and exhibitions of African visual art and material culture has gained significant traction, placing the historically marginalized study of women artists in twentieth-century Africa at a crossroads. The recent growth in online resources pertaining to global modern art, such as biographical notes by AWARE and contextual essays from the MoMA, has helped to reevaluate the narratives surrounding African women artists of the twentieth century. Surveys on African women artists have proposed that gendered practices are multifaceted (Blackmun Visonà 2021), while also underlining the challenges posed by “incongruent methodological approaches to how that gendered history is constructed” (Makhubu 2020). This has opened opportunities to transform research methodologies and fieldwork strategies. In moving forward, however, despite ongoing reflections on the current state of the field (African Arts 2017 & 2024) and revised trajectories of African modernisms (Critical Interventions 2019), there remains a paucity of directions in the analysis of modern art by individual African women artists. The panel discusses methodological innovations and case studies that underpin novel scholarship on women’s artistic production among twentieth-century African art historiography. The scope encompasses accounts of recent shifts and envisioning future inquiry, especially in respect of Africa-centered perspectives. By engaging in debates about the de/canonization of art historical knowledges, this panel illuminates the previously underrepresented histories of African women artists.

Subject Fields
African History / Studies, Anthropology, Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Women’s & Gender History / Studies

https://networks.h-net.org/group/announcements/20120622/cfp-methodological-approaches-researching-modern-art-african-women

Timeline:
Proposal submission deadline: 29 August 2025
Notification of acceptance: 16 September 2025

Submission Guidelines:
Prepare your presentation title and abstract (250 words), in addition to your shortened CV (~2 pages). Presenters will submit through CAA’s online forms via this link: https://caa.confex.com/caa/2026/webprogrampreliminary/meeting.html
For technical issues, kindly reach out to caa@confex.com

Call for Papers

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International Conference on GLOBALISATION IN LANGUAGES, EDUCATION, CULTURE, AND COMMUNICATION (GLECC2025)

The past two decades have witnessed remarkable advancements in the studies into Education, Second and Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting, Cultural Studies & Communication. This growth can be largely attributed to the forces of globalisation. Consequently, adopting the globalisation perspective is timely and provides a natural
framework for connecting these diverse yet interlinked disciplines.

This conference aims to bring together researchers, educators, practitioners, and policymakers to disseminate research outcomes, share insights, discuss findings, exchange visions, and identify challenges
and trends in an interactive and immersive multidisciplinary environment. The submissions take the forms of abstract, full paper, panel discussion, and workshop proposals.

There is a “conference first” policy in place. Selected papers will be invited to further develop into full journal articles free of APCs.
Conference proceedings will be published open access with an ISBN.
There will be optional pre-conference workshops on 29 July and post
conference events on 1 August.

Dates: 30-31 July 2025 (main conference)
Venue: Manchester, U.K.
Submission deadline extended to: 18 May 2025

Keynote speakers confirmed:
1.“Beyond borders: The interplay of international mobility, culture, and
commerce” by Professor Zheng Wang, University of Dundee, UK.
2.“Rethinking language and culture education for a reglobalising world”
by Dr Derek Hird, Lancaster University, UK.

For further details, https://glecc.org/2025/

Portraiture and Archives in African Photography Symposium

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Hybrid event: Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University and Zoom

March 28–29, 2025

Join us for a two-day symposium celebrating the art and research of the Eskenazi Museum of Art’s featured exhibition Portraiture and Archives in African Photography co-curated by Ibrahima Thiam, Allison Martino, and Beth Buggenhagen. ACASA board member Allison Martino is organizing this symposium that will feature presentations by artists, scholars, and curators to discuss current research and curatorial work related to photography and collaborative projects. Guest speakers include artists Zohra Opoku and Ibrahima Thiam as well as keynote speaker Dr. Silvia Forni, Shirley and Ralph Shapiro Director of the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Sessions will be held in person at the Eskenazi Museum of Art and via Zoom. View the full schedule of events and RSVP to attend here.

Current Events – Cleveland Museum of Art Lecture on “West and Central African Arts, Colonialism, and Pablo Picasso”

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A standing wooden sculpture with arms raised and metal nails in its body

Male figure (nkisi nkondi), late 1800s-early 1900s. Democratic Republic of Congo or Cabinda (Angola), Kongo artist and nganga (priest). 2010.432

Lecture: West and Central African Arts, Colonialism, and Pablo Picasso.
Venue: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Date: Tuesday, January 7, 2025 at noon

Join ACASA member and Cleveland Museum of Art curator of African arts Kristen Windmuller-Luna for an in-person lunchtime lecture.

Talk description: Pablo Picasso created his art within the social context of French colonialism and the so-called “discovery” of African arts by Paris-based European modernist artists. Though he and his peers mistakenly believed the works whose aesthetics they appropriated were “ancient,” they were most often contemporary with their own creations. What art historians have defined as European modernism overlaps with a peak period of European imperialism, requiring us to ask why certain African arts became available to European artists and how they related to them. What follows is a brief discussion of the connections between Pablo Picasso, colonialism, and the works of West and Central African artists. The talk concludes by highlighting several named African contemporaries of Picasso whose works are in the CMA collection.

RSVP for free tickets here https://www.clevelandart.org/events/west-and-central-african-arts-colonialism-and-pablo-picasso