CALL FOR PAPERS: THE SOUTHWEST ART HISTORY CONFERENCE 35

DEADLINE May 19, 2025

Proposals are now being accepted for papers for the thirty-fifth “annual” Southwest Art History Conference (SWAHC). The conference will be held in Taos, New Mexico, October 8-10, 2025 (Wednesday-Friday). Papers should be 20-30 minutes in length and generally include visuals. Topics should be relevant to the art and artists of the Southwest or the American West and their place in the broader framework of American art history and visual culture. 

This conference embraces a wide variety of themes and methodologies, including the presentation of primary research on individual artists, explorations of the sociological and cultural contexts within which the art of the American Southwest has been created, as well as presentations by artists. Papers have also been included on public art, art patrons, and individual works of art. Past topics have examined themes in architecture, anthropology, folklore, film, and literature, as well as art history. The conference is comprised of four sessions of three to four papers each. A question and answer period led by the session’s moderator follows the presentation of the papers, which share a general theme.

Proposals for individual papers should be submitted to the SWAHC google drive HERE in the form of a pdf file saved LastName__Title.pdf that includes a one-page abstract, a short vita of the presenter, a mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address.

Proposals for entire sessions are also welcome, and should should be submitted to the SWAHC google drive HERE in the form of a pdf file saved SessionProposal___Title.pdf. The proposal should include: 1). Session title and a one-page description of the issues the session will address; 2). The title of each paper name, and institutional affiliation of each presenter, and a one-page abstract for each paper; and 3). Short vitae, as well as mailing addresses, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses for each participant. Possible sessions could be: ”New Perspectives on Native American Modernism,” “Painting Native Belongings in Settler Art,” or “Revisiting Artists and their Relationships." A SWAHC board member will moderate each session.

Papers resulting from work in progress are encouraged, as are graduate student presentations. Papers will be selected competitively based on the abstracts. We do not accept papers that have already been substantially published, though papers in connection with recent publications will be considered.

 Abstracts should be received by May 19, 2025 and should be submitted to the SWAHC google drive HERE. Questions? Contact Betsy Fahlman (Fahlman@asu.edu), phone: 480-620-8618.