The 31st Conference of the German-Polish Working Group for Art History and Monument Preservation is organized by the Museum of Architecture in Wroclaw in cooperation with the University of Wroclaw and Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. It is to be held in Wrocław on 9–12 October 2024.

Every war was supposed to be the last one. None of them actually was. All of them brought not only suffering and destruction, but also changes unimaginable ahead. Efforts have been made to tame them through new narratives and interpretations, such as historiographical accounts, and to articulate them through various forms of art, including architecture, urban planning, painting, drawing, and graphics.

The following 31st conference of the Polish-German Working Group for Art History and Monument Preservation builds on last year’s discussion on ‘Art and War’. The conference addresses the role of art and architecture in post-war realities, a topic that remains relevant in face of depopulation, loss of heritage, economic crises, changes in social relations, and individual and collective traumas resulting from armed conflicts throughout history. The situation of art is undoubtedly challenging under such circumstances. However, history proves that artistic activity does not come to a complete standstill during or immediately after wars. On the contrary, it often flourishes as a result of wars.

Proposals for unpublished papers may be submitted in Polish, German or English to postwar@ma.wroc.pl. The maximum length for the proposal is 1,800 characters including spaces, the maximum length for the short bio is 900 characters. Deadline for submissions: 15 May 2024

The organisers reserve the right to select only some of the submitted papers. Accepted proposals will be presented as 20-minute papers. Additionally, there will be an information exchange section in the form of short 10-minute talks, providing a forum for the presentation of current research projects related to art history and preservation of common Polish-German heritage. The papers presented at the conference will be published in a peer-reviewed and scored publication.

Read more: http://www.ma.wroc.pl/en/article/postwar-art-and-architecture/