CALL FOR PAPERS
Belonging and Detachment: Representing Musical Identity in Visual Culture
The 19th Conference of Association RIdIM
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
13-15 November 2019
Musicians and artists rarely operate in complete isolation. Throughout history they have negotiated power structures and geographical circumstances, and these factors remain influential in the digital age.
The 19th International Conference of Association RIdIM seeks to examine the ways in which musicians and artists experience ‘belonging’ and ‘detachment’ – be it socially, politically, geographically, artistically, aesthetically and/or philosophically. The primary concern of the conference is how such experiences impact upon the representation of musical identity in visual culture.
The location of the conference is testament to the very concepts being discussed. Tasmania belongs to, but is now physically detached from, mainland Australia: about 12,000 years ago the two land masses separated, generating ‘difference’.
The impact of the invasion and dispossession of Aboriginal land on pakana/palawa (Tasmanian Aborigines) was devastating. Today pakana/palawa are working towards healing the trauma of the past through Indigenous knowledges and cultural practices, building strength and resilience within the Aboriginal Community. This turbulent history of Tasmania is due to British colonisation, the migration and displacement of British convicts (who were sent to a penal colony that belonged to, but was far away from, their homeland). Today, Tasmania has wilderness and landscapes that grounds people to ‘Country’ and is enjoying a current renaissance, largely due to the ‘MONA effect’, as international attention is drawn to the state by the innovative curatorial practices of the Museum of Old and New Art.
As the current global crisis of mass migration and displacement highlights many different experiences of belonging and detachment, Association RIdIM invites submissions on all aspects of this theme relating to the representation of musical identity in visual culture. It hopes to foster a dialogue between scholars and practitioners and calls for paper proposals from diverse participants including musicologists, art historians and theorists, curators, performers, composers and artists.
Topics related to the conference theme might include:
- The Other and Otherness
- Centre and Periphery
- Migration, Displacement, Diaspora
- Multiculturalism, Cultural Pluralism and Transculturalism
- Colonialism and Post-Colonialism
- Music, Class and Power
- Networks and Patronage
- Artistic Hierarchies
- Curatorial Practice
- Considerations on Music Iconography as a Discipline
- Music, Art and Empathy
Proposals are welcomed from visual artists and musicians addressing the ways in which the conference theme is approached in their own work.
Association RIdIM seeks to uphold the highest scholarly standards and invited participants are expected to give professional presentations that are well-prepared, engaging, on-topic and have a clear argument. A high-quality video recording will be made of all papers, with selected highlights to be included on the RIdIM website. Participants are kindly asked to stay for the entire conference, so as to contribute to discussions that benefit all. The conference will also include a practical introduction to Association RIdIM’s cataloguing methods designed as a workshop. Delegates are invited to bring details of items they would like to catalogue.
Association RIdIM offers two awards, i.e. the Lloyd and Constance Old Award (see https://ridim.org/association-ridim/l-c-old-award) and the Association RIdIM Award for the Encouragement of Young Scholars (see https://ridim.org/association-ridim-award-for-the-encouragement-of-young-scholars), and will endeavour to organise special panel sessions for younger, postgraduate and early career scholars.
Selected papers will be considered for publication in conference proceedings.
The language of the conference is English.
Important Dates
Deadline for abstract submission: 1 April 2019
Program committee decision: 1 June 2019
Conference registration: 2 June – 31 October 2019
Conference: 13 – 15 November 2019
Abstract Submission Guidelines
Authors are invited to submit original and unpublished research. All paper submissions should be written in English and submitted with the application form available as a download from
Confirmed Keynote Lectures
Greg Lehman, The University of Melbourne (Australia)
Antonio Baldassarre, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts – School of Music (Switzerland)
Program Committee
Arabella Teniswood-Harvey (chair), University of Tasmania, Hobart (Australia)
Antonio Baldassarre, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Switzerland)
Daniel Chua, The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
Alan Davison, University of Technology Sydney (Australia)
Marita Fornaro Bordolli, Universidad de la República, Montevideo (Uruguay)
Richard Leppert, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (U.S.A.)
Ian McLean, The University of Melbourne (Australia)
Sylvain Perrot, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg (France)
Geoff Stahl, Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand)
Suzanne Wijsman, The University of Western Australia, Perth (Australia)