Call for papers - Women artists in the Atlantic Space: Migrations, Creation, Emancipation

This international conference aims to explore the effects of transatlantic cultural circulations over the individual and collective experiences of women artists (18th-21st c.), in the various fields of creation (cinema, literature, visual arts, performing arts, music, architecture…). The contributions will examine how geographical trajectories open creative spaces and possibilities for emancipation, to consider the history of cultural circulation from the perspective of women. This approach invites us to look beyond the canonical history of the arts, towards other genres, alternative temporalities, expansive networks and actors. Addressing women’s artistic creation means bypassing the mythological stature of the most celebrated artists, and widening the focus to include cultural productions and genres sometimes considered “minor” but widely invested by women, such as children’s literature, textile arts, travel narratives or translation. The aim of this conference is both to re-read the history of key figures in the light of these transatlantic exchanges, and to (re)discover less visible personalities.

Contributions to this conference will serve as a starting point for publications on the online cultural history platform Transatlantic Cultures. This platform analyzes how intellectual, literary and artistic works have circulated between Europe, Africa and the Americas, contributing to cultural diversitý but also to the broader process of globalization – in its economic, social and political dimensions. These contributions will take part in a new “Atlantic Women and Feminisms” collection on the platform, with possible additions to enrich the texts (metadata, media, dynamic mapping, etc.). 

Organizing team
This conference is organized with the support of the Graduate School Humanities–Heritage Science Paris Saclay, of the International Research Project « Transatlantic Cultures » (CNRS) and of the Royaumont Foundation by:

Clara Bouveresse, Associate professor, American Studies, Évry Paris Saclay University
Ana Paula Cavalcanti Simioni, Sociology of art professor, Université de São Paulo
Florencia Dansilio, Postdoctoral researcher in sociology, Paris Cité University and Universidad de la
República (Montevideo)
Anaïs Fléchet, Contemporary history professor, Sciences Po Strasbourg
Thomas Vernet, Head of the Resources and Library Department, Royaumont Foundation