Journal of Global Studies & Contemporary Art

Revista de Estudios Globales y Arte Contemporáneo

The Journal of Global Studies & Contemporary Art is a web-based, peer-reviewed publication associated to the Art,Globalization,Interculturality research group at the Department of Art History, Faculty of History and Geography, University of Barcelona.

Its main research objective is to analyze visuality, contemporary artistic practice and intercultural conflict through a global perspective, in the context of the cultural impact of globalization in the so-called late modern period. This approach implies an academic reformulation of critical frameworks and current methodologies in order to foster greater interdisciplinary exchange. The unit’s specific research objectives are: to establish a systematic study of the phenomena of conflict within visual cultures in the global era; and to analyze the contradictions inherent to globalizing processes of culture in the area of artistic practice. Specifically, the group aims to create a space to foster dialogue between the concepts of “visual studies” and “interculturality”, as well as the fields of art history and cultural studies.

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Collaboration is by no means new in the field of art production. It pertains to a series of varied attempts throughout Modern and Contemporary art history to transcend individual authorship, redefine artistic autonomy and democratize access to the practice and fruition of the arts. The works of authors such as Grant Kester, Claire Bishop, Aida Sánchez de Serdio, Chantal Mouffe or Florian Malzacher, among many others, have delved into its different manifestations and denominations in the contemporary art scene (socially engaged art, collaborative art, dialogical aesthetics, among others) as well as its potential to question hegemonic modes of cultural production, often embedded in the neoliberal system. These artistic processes, frequently adopting a context specific approach and intersecting activist practices, contribute to prefiguring other ways of conceiving and building collectivity, outside of the capitalist logic.

Scholars, however, have also emphasized tensions and criticalities related to collaborative art practice. While reframing the traditional roles of artists, curators and audiences, these art expressions may reinstate power hierarchies and modes of commodification of creative processes. From here several questions arise: How can art complement and sustain political and social action without appropriating collective struggles and experiences? In what ways do socially engaged initiatives contribute to transform structures of cultural production? How do artists and collectives address problematic power asymmetries within their own creative process and prevent forms of cognitive extractivism? Can growing institutional and academic recognition contribute to depoliticize collective art practices as well as reintroduce them in the conventional art circuits and value-generating systems? How can theoretical reflection on these cultural manifestations be decolonized through non-Western-centric conceptualizations and studies?

Through this call we invite artists, curators and researchers to send academic contributions that may prompt a critical reflection on these practices while also exploring multiple perspectives and methodologies.