Call for Papers: Symposium – OSK Network for Modern and Contemporary Art
Date: Friday, Oktober 10, 2025, 14:00–18:00
Location: Universiteit Utrecht, Achter Sint-Pieter 200, 3512 HT Utrecht (Johanna Hudiggebouw, zaal 1.27).
Followed by drinks & bites
Call for Papers
We invite colleagues to send in an abstract of max. 400 words, for a 20 minute presentation.
Deadline: September 5, 2025.
Please send your abstract and short biography to: osk-fgw@uva.nl
How do biographies of objects, artists, curators, or collectors shape our understanding of museum collections, curatorial practices, and the institutional and related discursive lives of artists and artworks?
This symposium and network event invites you to rethink biography in museum practice— not just as the life stories of artists, collectors, curators, educators, and museum directors, but also as a lens through which to explore the dynamic lives of objects themselves. We’ll delve into the social dynamics of collecting and the institutional mechanisms that govern inclusion and exclusion in museum practice, how collections are formed, valued, contested, and what these biographies reveal about power, memory, change and representation in the museum. Join us for an engaging discussion that explores critical issues in the art world today.
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- The materiality of an object: how does it shape its biography, from studio practices to restoration techniques
- The role of biography in recovering overlooked or marginalized artists
- Biography and the visibility of women in the museum
- Biography and canonical vs. alternative or marginalized narratives
- Provenance research and the social lives of objects
- Looting and restitution linked to personal and institutional biographies (e.g., WW II, colonialism, contemporary conflict zones)
- Biography and professional/artistic networks
- Artist groups and collectives in the museum, collective identity versus individual identity
- The transcultural lives of objects, artworks, artists
- The digital as a gateway to biography
- Self-portrait, biography, and exhibitions practices
- Posthumous fame
Organized by the OSK Modern and Contemporary Art Network, this afternoon will bring together scholars, museum professionals, PhDs, and students to reflect critically on the role of biography in curatorial and institutional contexts.
Attending without presenting?
Please register by September 24, 2025 via email: osk-fgw@uva.nl
Questions?
Feel free to contact the organizers:
- Sandra Kisters – kisters@boijmans.nl
- Gregor Langfeld – g.m.langfeld@uva.nl
- Patrick Van Rossem – p.vanrossem@uu.nl