JOIN THE PROJECT
Calls for articles & action
We invite you to be part of AnthroArt and join our Action for People and Planet!
We are seeking anthropologists – academics and/or working in applied settings – as well as artists who are passionate about our two central themes and want to share their insights, their experience and their art with the wider public. We are also inviting them to join our bootcamps, to work together and develop real-world solutions that can help tackle problems related to inequality and the environment.
The theme of “Sustainability” is abstract and complex yet also personal, subjective and relational. We think such a topic is a fertile ground of exploration for anthropologists, with their unique skills of empathetic deconstruction. We thus invite them to use these skills in reflecting on the human and non-human elements behind the theme of “Sustainability” as well as their co-creation, interaction and impact. We also encourage reflection on the possible ways of helping societies to rethink and rebuild their relationship with the ecosystems they are part of in a more mindful, gentle and responsible way.
We invite academic and applied anthropologists to send us short articles, between 2200 – 2800 words, that tackle issues that can fit under the broad theme of ”Sustainability”. The texts should be accessible to a non-specialist audience. As part of our process of making them accessible and engaging to the public they will be published on the theanthro.art platform accompanied by an audio version/podcast and editorial illustration created by an artist. Illustrations together with abstracts will be included in an itinerant exhibition organised across 7 different locations spanning 4 countries.
AnthroArt – Action for People and Planet is the initiative of three applied anthropology entities in Romania (Antropedia), The Netherlands (Namla) and Portugal (Ambigrama) that aims to bridge the gap between academic research in anthropology and the wider community while also bringing into focus the applied potential of the discipline and the possible paths for artists and anthropologists to come together and contribute to positive societal change. Learn more about the project here discover the articles published under our 2023 call on Social Inclusion here and visit the ”for Planet” section dedicated to the current theme of Sustainability.
Submission Guidelines
- Articles should ideally be based on academic fieldwork of at least masters’ level. If the research was carried out in an applied/industry context, please specify its stakeholder and objectives.
- Please provide a brief intro about the duration and methods of the research.
- The articles should provide a good direction and base for an active intervention with the issue they are exploring. They should include theoretical reflections coupled/easy to couple with action and we encourage you to write about any applied idea you might have.
- The articles should be between 2200-2800 words, written in English in a way that will make them easy to access by the general public. Where abstract academic notions are employed, they should be explained and ”translated” in non-specialist terms.
- Articles should come from authors working or doing research in Portugal, Romania or The Netherlands. The research site can be elsewhere as long as the writer is based in one of the three countries, and the writer can be based elsewhere as long as the research was done in one of the three countries.
Timeline
Expression of interest by 15 February.
Send us a short informal intro about the topic you are proposing including the main thesis, details of the field site, duration and methods and potential links to applied interventions based on your research insights. Please also include a short presentation about yourself specifying your current position and institutional affiliation, your position at the time of the research (if different) and any other details you consider relevant.
Final articles are expected by March 31st.
If your idea is selected you will be paid a set honorarium to write the article. The amount differs in each locality and you can reach out to us to learn more details. Payment will take place after the articles are completed.
Send your proposals and any questions to the emails below.
Romania – Antropedia, Maria Rădan-Papasima, romania@theanthro.art
Portugal – Ambigrama, Daniel Alves, portugal@theanthro.art
Netherlands – Namla, Rosalie Post, netherlands@theanthro.art
Click here to dwnload a pdf of the call.
Are you working in the field of academic or applied anthropology in Romania, Portugal or the Netherlands and does your research/work focus on inequality and on ways to advance social inclusion? And are you interested in writing about your work for a general audience and promoting the application of anthropological knowledge to the real world? Then consider writing an article for AnthroArt!
This call is looking for short articles based on anthropological work (around 2500 words) – they should be simple, accessible texts for the general public exposing and discussing research insights and practical solutions.
An artist will create a unique illustration reflecting the central ideas of your text. We will also produce an audio recording of your article and publish it in our podcast series. They will also serve as inspiration for bootcamps, where students and young practitioners of anthropology and the arts will translate your insights into potential societal interventions. Lastly, the articles, podcasts and illustrations will feature in exhibitions in the three countries.
Funding available: authors will receive an honorarium for writing an article.
To submit your idea, send us an email at hello@theanthro.art with the following information:
- the main thesis/argument of the article you want to write
- a short methodical description of the field work your argument is based on (location, form, methods used, estimate of the time you were able to spend in the field)
- how your idea links to our themes of inequality and social inclusion (and the social self, if possible)
- what is the base for societal intervention in your argument
- something about you, including at minimum your current role/position, your role/position at the time of the field study, your current location. Include any details concerning representation/diversity you deem relevant, if you so wish.
Learn more about the call theme on the for People section and click here for detailed submission guidelines.
Creative Connections
An AnthroArt Conference on Anthropology, Art and Action
Exploring paths towards a more inclusive world
November 4th – Mezanin, Palatul Universul, Bucharest
Unusual intersections can take us down new and powerful paths to explore social inclusion.
The path of anthropology creates understanding, brings insight and invites new ways of thinking about complex and systemic challenges. The path of action creates practical and tangible results into righting inequalities and providing relief in unbalanced, unequal systems. The path of art touches the heart, elevates the spirit and builds bridges across differences.
What might they teach and inform each-other when they come together and connect? Might it be that the power of an anthropological insight amplifies the force of an intervention? Might it be that a practical challenge of tackling inequality provides the seeds for a new question to direct the gaze of the anthropologist? Might it be that a touching piece of art amplifies and carries both the anthropological insight and the practical challenge to the eyes and hearts of communities?
These questions are sitting at the core of this conference.
Are you an anthropologist researching or studying the topic of inequality and social inclusion? Are you an organisation working to right social inequalities? Are you an artist interested to contribute to social inclusion?
Come join us for this one-day conference in Bucharest.
We are inviting scholars, NGOs and artists to showcase their work in the space of social inclusion and explore together where these unusual intersections might take us.
We will also share the first fruits of our AnthroArt project, showing how we brought together anthropology, art and action to engage with the themes of inequality and inclusion across three geographies: Romania, the Netherlands and Portugal.
Participation is free, based on registration here. For the full programme of the event click here.
Are you an anthropologist or an artist interested in applying your knowledge and skills to effect positive social change? In an AnthroArt bootcamp you will work in interdisciplinary teams, learning to define your own challenge, carry out fast ethnographic research and combine it with principles of design thinking, to develop a real-world solution for a problem.
In September we will host the first cross-country digital bootcamp. Participants from all three AnthroArt countries, Romania, Portugal and the Netherlands, come together online to work in teams of 3-4 people on a challenge around social inclusion. During two weeks there are classes each Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon, and in between two classes, teams work together on a digital whiteboard. The teaching team consisting of Namla (two applied anthropologists and two designers) will guide you through the whole process.
The bootcamp will take place 18th- 29th of September, and we do rolling admissions up until September 6th. If you are interested email portugal@theanthro.art , romania@theanthro.art, or netherlands@theanthro.art to secure a spot from your favorite location.
Are you an anthropologist or an artist interested in applying your knowledge and skills to effect positive social change? In an AnthroArt bootcamp you will work in interdisciplinary teams over a period of one week, learning to carry out fast ethnographic research and combine it with principles of design thinking, to develop a real-world solution for a problem. The problem will be defined in collaboration with a local stakeholder (for example an NGO working on problems related to inequality and social inclusion). The teaching team consisting of Namla (two applied anthropologists and one designer), as well as an artist co-teacher, will guide you through the whole process.
The bootcamp in Coimbra will take place between 21 – 29 June. It is free to attend as a participant. The exact challenge that teams in this bootcamp will be working on will be defined soon. If you are interested email portugal@theanthro.art or use the form: https://forms.gle/tzFDU31QoqekoFEn6
If you are an artist interested in creating editorial illustrations on topics related to inequality and social inclusion, please email us at hello@theanthro.art including a link to your portfolio or attaching selected works, mentioning a few details about yourself such as name, location and experience. We will contact you if we see a fit with one of the articles that we are planning to publish. You will be compensated for your work. Illustrations will also feature in several exhibitions across Romania, the Netherlands and Portugal. Get in touch for more details!