We’re building a more just, equitable, and engaged
art history.
CFP: Building a Sustainable Road Map for Engaged Scholarship in Art History
April 8-9, 2027 | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center, Washington, DC
How might art historians bridge the perceived divide between the concerns of art historical scholarship and the most pressing questions facing humanity today?
We invite applications from scholars and public humanities professionals based in the United States to participate in a two-day convening focused on developing strategies and priorities for advancing engaged research in art history. We understand engaged art history as a democratic, problem-oriented, and community-integrated practice that fuses scholarly work with the needs, interests, and knowledge of people beyond the university.
The convening will bring together 20-30 scholars and practitioners from universities, museums, and public humanities initiatives with substantial experience in or related to engaged scholarship.
Through facilitated discussions and collaborative planning activities, participants will explore key questions concerning the future of the field, including: How can art historical research meaningfully address social needs? What are the methodological and ethical considerations for engaged art history research and where do they intersect with and diverge from approaches already common in art history and the public humanities? How might the discipline incorporate community knowledge alongside artifactual, material, and archival sources? How might it both advocate for itself and serve advocacy efforts for the humanities more broadly?
Participants will complete a brief pre-convening activity (due in March) and are expected to attend the full 2-day event. Together, we will build a plan to make engaged art history more rigorous, more visible, and more impactful in academic and community contexts and in society more broadly.
To apply, please complete this form by October 18, 2026.
Questions? Please contact Jennifer Kingsley.
Convening Organizers:
Erin Benay, Case Western University
Caitlin Berry, Johns Hopkins University
Katherine Brion, New College of Florida
Laura M. Holzman, Indiana University Indianapolis
Jennifer Kingsley, Johns Hopkins University
Jennifer Stager, Johns Hopkins University
Building a Sustainable Roadmap for Engaged Art History is supported by a grant from the Johns Hopkins University Nexus Awards Program.
Image: Community Conversation at the House Life Project. Indianapolis, IN. 2017. Courtesy of The House Life Project.
