CFP: “Language and Text in Feminist Art Part III: East, South-East, and Central Asia, Asian Diasporas” / CAA 2026 Annual Conference

Seeking presentation proposals from art historians, writers, and artists. The CAA 114th Annual Conference will take place on February 18-21, 2026 in Chicago. In order to allow and encourage participation of scholars and artists from Asia, without the need to travel at great personal and ecological cost, our session will convene remotely. On the CAA CFP page you can find the session abstract (also pasted in below), watch instructional video, and click to upload your proposal: a 250-words-long abstract and a short bio. You can also include images. The deadline to apply is August 29.

THE SESSION ABSTRACT:

Language and Text in Feminist Art Part III: East, South-East, and Central Asia, Asian Diasporas

This session examines artworks exploring language from a gendered perspective—a subject that has lacked comprehensive treatment—to inspire new research in feminist art. It will analyze ways in which women (cis or queer) employ text and language as a means of feminist critique, across art mediums.

There is a stubborn belief that feminist art focuses on the image of the body. Meanwhile, the core of feminist art is conceptual and social practice; art that is designed not just to be looked at, but also to be acted upon. Text- or language-based art—including what Hélène Cixous called écriture feminine—has been its crucial component as women probe their erasure from historical texts, objectification in law, the experience of speaking a language as racialized and sexualized subjects, or the male-centrism of language, including AI and the internet.

The session is the last in the series of three; part of broader research that seeks to fill a gap in literature about feminist language-based art by privileging transnational, multigenerational, and intersectional comparisons, globally. The first session in 2024 provided a comparative perspective on the Middle East and North Africa; part II—on Latin America and the Caribbean. Part III in 2026 seeks scholarly analyses and artists’ presentations with a focus on the Far East, Central Asia, and Asian diasporas. Of equal interest are proposals regarding artists representing cultures where oral expression and poetry dominate the written, and those engaging with ancient traditions of calligraphy and secret languages of women; both sound-based and text-based projects.

Chair: Monika Fabijanska