04 | March | 2020

Call for Papers | Revivals in the Decorative Arts

Posted in Calls for Papers by Editor on March 4, 2020

Revivals in the Decorative Arts — Annual ICOM / ICDAD Conference
National Palace of Ajuda, Lisbon, 14–16 October 2020

Proposals due by 15 April 2020

The 2020 Annual Conference and General Assembly of ICOM International Committee for Museums and Collections of Decorative Arts and Design will take place at the National Palace of Ajuda in Lisbon, Portugal, from October 14 to 16—plus two days (17–18 October) for the post conference tour to Coimbra and Porto.

Revivals—as a socio-cultural phenomenon recurrent throughout history—seek to rescue principles and traditions of times gone by. In this conference we approach revivals with regard to decorative arts and design. Decorative arts and design are to be interpreted as any domestic or public furnishings including but not limited to textiles, silverware, furniture, wallpaper, tableware, interior decoration as a whole, graphic design, as well as personal accessories (excluding fashion). We also welcome presentations on revivals within decorative and applied art traditions (ceramics, lacquer, metalwork, textiles, woodwork, etc.) made for utilitarian or connoisseurial purposes. Hence we encourage papers proposals on a wide variety of topics including a broad array of Asian, European, or North and South American revival styles. We also include the retro design styles of the 20th and 21st centuries, referring to the resurgence of old yet relatively recent styles.

It is fascinating how heritage is being used and valued, reconsidered both from the positions of a curator, artist, or a designer. We are interested in the examples, phenomena, and notions that reflect upon the relation to the past, treating it with both unsentimental and sentimental nostalgia, introducing ways of dealing with the recent past from different periods in history.

15-minute presentations (in English) will comprise the conference sessions. Please send an abstract of 250–300 words, including your name, title, institution, and ICOM membership number to Maria José Gaivão Tavares, Curator of the Furniture Collection at National Palace of Ajuda and ICDAD Secretary, icdad.secretariat@gmail.com. Additional information is available here.