The On ESSAYISM Conference welcomes PhD candidates to participate in a one-day, in-person doctoral conference dedicated to exploring essayism as a method, a mode of thinking, and a practice within academic and artistic research.
Over the past decades, the essay has expanded beyond text, manifesting in diverse formats such as the essay film, the visual or photo essay, the performance essay, the essay exhibition, and more. This expansion testifies to an increasing interest in opening up and presenting the arts as a way of doing research, or as a mode of inquiry.
Due to its reflective, open-ended, and subjective nature, the essay offers a unique model for thinking-through-making. Its process-based approach makes it particularly apt for integration into artistic research, offering researchers of all disciplines a method for investigating questions relevant to their practices, as well as a common ground for communicating the thought processes underlying their experiments. Essayistic strategies can be used as a method for researchers to reflect on their subject matter, practices, motivations, processes of meaning-making, and the navigation of their PhD journey.
The conference is organised within the FilmEU Dynamic Cluster On ESSAYISM – Pedagogical Innovation through Essayism’ and seeks to investigate how doctoral research engages with essayism, whether in film, performance, visual art, sound, installation, writing, or hybrid practices.
This gathering of researchers offers an opportunity for sharing knowledge, experiences, and feedback. It aims to explore, test, and articulate essayism as a transdisciplinary methodology for both artistic and theoretical research.
We welcome contributions that engage with, but are not limited to, the following questions:
- How does essayism challenge traditional academic epistemologies?
- How can the essay become a tool for critical thinking in times of crisis?
- How can theory and practice be bridged? Can an essayistic framework help with this?
- How might essayism function differently across disciplines?
- How can various strategies be developed based on the characteristics of the essay?
- How can the essay serve as a way to document, activate, and make research visible?
- How can sources and references be expanded through an essayistic approach?
- How can essayism be considered as a non-linear methodology?
- How can the essay function as a negotiation between object and concept?
Who can apply:
We welcome submissions from all PhD candidates, both from FilmEU Alliance member institutions and from other higher education and research institutions. We encourage proposals that are academic, artistic, or hybrid in nature, including the possibility to showcase excerpts of the work as well as research projects in progress.
Sessions will be organized based on thematic affinities, regardless of practice; all contributions will be considered equally valid scholarly outputs.
Presentation format:
All presentations are limited to 20 minutes. Artistic or hybrid presentations should be time-based, including audiovisual or sound-based works, or performance-based actions.
How to apply:
Please submit an abstract (300–500 words), bibliographic references (max. 200 words), keywords, a short biography (max. 150 words), and technical requirements (if applicable). Artistic or hybrid proposals must be accompanied by a short 2–3 minute sample and/or an illustrated description.
To apply, please complete this SUBMISSION FORM.
Deadline for submissions: 14 May 2026
Notification of acceptance: 15 May 2026
Programme committee:
Katarína Mišíková (VŠMU, SK), Katja Dreyer (LUCA School of Arts, BE), Konstanza Kapsali (LUCA School of Arts, BE), Sara Santos (ICNOVA, PT), Soraya Vasconcelos (CICANT/Lusófona, PT), Žofia Ščuroková (VŠMU, SK)
The conference will be held in English and is free of charge. Please note that participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses.
