COUNTER-IMAGE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2022 AND PHOTO IMPULSE FINAL CONFERENCE - DECOLONIZING VISUALITY: WORKING TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE SOCIOCULTURAL PRACTICES
Lisbon, 13th to 15th July 2022


This edition of the Counter Image International Conference is an association with Photo Impulse research project, funded by FCT (PTDC/COM-OUT/29608/2017). Photo Impulse investigates the photographic and film productions of the geodesic, geographical and anthropological missions to Portugal’s formerly occupied territories in Africa and Asia. The collections being investigated are curated by the Museum of Natural History and Science of Lisbon University, a partner of the project.

The final results of the project will be presented at the conference. The project raises many of the questions we wish to discuss: from the centre of the “Metropolis” to the periphery of the “Colonies”: how did images, in particular photography and film, reinforce these unbalanced places and disseminate within them? How do images contribute to shaping the past and the present? What can be done to decolonize the archives, museums and centres of knowledge? How is it possible to integrate other forms of knowledge and knowledge production? What is the role of the arts and artistic practices? Which were the visual practices of those who were colonized? How are the contemporary visual practices of postcolonial authors shaping societies? How important are vernacular images to this discussion? What is the role of global media systems such as social media, television and journalism? How can images contribute to a more sustainable and equitable world? The writer Chinua Achebe spoke of a “balance of stories”, we ask how important is a balance of images and what are their affordances in relation to textual accounts?

In short, the scope of the conference includes, but is not limited to the following topics:
• Colonial visual cultures and strategies for decolonization
• Colonial and postcolonial photography and film
• Museums and colonial heritage
• Social sustainability and image practices
• Counter-hegemonic narratives
• Visual Culture of the “colonial sciences”
• Colonial cosmoramas, panoramas and other “ramas”
• Archive dynamics in relation to counter-power and counter-memory
• Artistic practices as resistance
• The use of vernacular images and processes in artistic production
• Ecocriticism in visual practices

Proposals
Abstracts are due by March 31st 2022. Portuguese and English languages are accepted.
We encourage proposals that are ACADEMIC, ARTISTIC or HYBRID in nature. Proposals will be for 20 minute time slots and must be sent through our Easy Chair Account, here. After creating a login, write a proposal with no more than 500 words, with 5 key-words and no more than 5 bibliographic references. Artistic/hybrid presentations should be time-based, including audiovisual or sound-based works, or performance-based actions. These proposals should be accompanied by a short 3-4min. sample and/or an illustrated description, along with the summary, key-words and bibliographic references (when relevant) previously mentioned. In all cases, a separate biographical note should be uploaded. Please make sure your name is not mentioned anywhere in the abstract. Proposals will be selected through a double blind referee system. Sessions will be organized based on thematic kinship, regardless of practices (academic/artistic/hybrid); all works will be considered equally valid scholarly outputs. Successful applicants will be contacted by April 30th, 2022.

The Organizing Committee of the CIIC22 has decided to offer a blended conference experience for the upcoming edition taking place 13 to 15 July. While submitting their abstracts, applicants should indicate their option for an online or on-site presentation. We look forward to meeting you in Lisbon!

Papers or visual essays may be submitted to a special issue of an academic journal (to be announced).

Contact info:
Organizing Committee: counterimageconference@fcsh.unl.pt