Call for Papers 2026

University of Cyprus

Nicosia  

The conference seeks to foster an interdisciplinary platform where scholars can engage in dialogues and collaborations that examine the intersections of art, aesthetics, and urban politics. The aim is to illuminate critical aspects of urban art practices, such as street art as artistic rebellion, the aesthetics of social movements, urban communities and commons, public art and authoritarianism, urban aesthetics and spatial justice, politics of urban heritage, art activism in urban spaces and eco-art and the urbanocene. This diverse focus allows for a rich examination of the ideologies, relationships, meanings, and practices that emerge from the interaction between art and the urban landscape, ultimately contributing to a deeper understanding of urban life, art, and social transformation.

The role of art within urban spaces involves complex spatial and temporal dynamics that give rise to aesthetic, dialogical, and political interactions. On one hand, art catalyzes urban development, city branding, and tourism. On the other side, it plays an instrumental role in urban activism, advocating for social change through movements such as the "right to the city," anti-gentrification struggles, and urban social movements with their spatial, ideological, and ecological agendas. Such movements have been extensively analyzed from politico-aesthetic perspectives, encompassing plural forms of resistance against authoritarian regimes, contests over public space, and issues of social and structural inequalities and human rights. Yet, there remains a need for a more specialized framework within contemporary art practices—one that places urban spaces and their social urgencies at the core of artistic production.

The 2026 edition of Art and the City, themed “Art, Urban Ecologies, and the City,” invites scholars and practitioners to reflect on the interconnections between artistic practices, ecological thought and action, and urban space. As cities face environmental crises, climate change, and transformations of public space,  we will explore how art can imagine, critique, and intervene in the ecological dimensions of the urban condition. 

Within and beyond the yearly theme, we invite scholars across the humanities and social sciences to reflect on the following interdisciplinary points of inquiry:

· Artistic strategies that cultivate new forms of ecological consciousness, resilience and collective agency within the urban sphere.

· The role of ecocriticism and ecopoetics in urban artistic practices.

· The strengths and limitations of art in catalyzing collective action toward ecological justice.

· Exploration of the potential and challenges posed by art and architecture’s interaction with urban ecologies.

. How artistic, curatorial, and architectural interventions address the entanglements between human and non-human actors, built environments, and the politics of sustainability in contemporary cities.

. How might urban publics be collaborators in shaping artscapes (co-creation, participatory design, bottom-up ecologies)?

· Architectural approaches to equitable sustainability and ecological consciousness in urban settings.

· Artistic gestures or practices pushing reflection on the politics of the commons

· How art redefines and confronts public space, fostering novel interpretations and forms of engagement.

· The potential of art to create innovative, transformative spaces for citizen participation in urban environments.

· Art’s potential to reflect on the notions of capability and citizen empowerment in the city.

· Art’s capacity to activate, capture, and subvert urban experiences, challenging traditional perspectives on urban space.

· The role of art in empowering marginalized voices and subjects within the city to assert their presence and agency.

· Artistic narratives that emerge around social organization within gentrified urban spaces.

· Art’s ability to reshape sensory and perceptual engagements with the city.

· The aesthetic dimensions of urban social movements and their commitment to participatory democracy.

· How urban art addresses intersecting issues of race, gender, class, and identity within evolving urban landscapes.

. How is “resilience” deployed: as a technical term (engineering, climate adaptation), as political rhetoric, and as aesthetic strategy? What are tensions or contradictions in deploying resilience in public art?

· How art preserves and reinvents historical narratives and cultural heritage within urban contexts.

· The impact of digital and interactive technologies in shaping new forms of artistic engagement with urban public spaces.

· The role of transient artistic practices, such as ephemeral installations and performances, in urban transformation and dialogue.

Keynotes:

Prof. Panos Leventis,  Architecture, Drury University

Artist Presenter: 

Todd Lowery,  Fine Arts, Drury University

Interdisciplinary Scientific Committee 2026

Konstantinos Avramidis,  Architecture, University of Cyprus

Sabina Andron, Architectural History, University of Melbourne 

Andrew Hewitt, Art and Design, University of Northampton

Mel Jordan, Center for Post-digital Cultures, Coventry University

Panos Leventis, Architecture, Drury University

Oleksandra Nenko,  Sociology, University of Turku

Petr Vasat, Sociology, The Czech Academy of Sciences

Tijen Tunali, Art History, Leuphana University

Contributors are invited to submit abstracts that should be 500 words max. Please also include a brief bio and send it to the conference conveners Tijen Tunali, tijen.tunali@leuphana.de and Konstantinos Avramidis, avramidis.konstantinos@ucy.ac.cy.

Important Dates:

Abstract Submission Deadline:  December 31, 2025.

Notification of Acceptance/Rejection:  February 28, 2026

Deadline for Registration: 30 April 2026

There will be a minimal conference fee to cover the cost of catering for coffee breaks, lunches, and the conference dinner at a local tavern.

The fourth day of the conference (June 13th) will feature an optional excursion designed to engage participants with the city of Nicosia, continuing the tradition of the Art and the City Conference series.

Selected papers will be invited to contribute to an edited volume in the Routledge Studies in Graffiti.