The topic of how to ‘treat’ heritage (decisions about conservation, restoration, or reconstruction) is currently the subject of heated debate. At least some of the principles underlying these decisions are aesthetic; the history of the discussion, going back to the Renaissance, features work from thinkers and practitioners such as Petrarch, Alberti, Viollet-le-Duc, Morris, Ruskin, and Riegl.

The two international interdisciplinary workshops that examine dwellings and the ways in which the past resonates in and through them.

The two international interdisciplinary workshops that examine dwellings and the ways in which the past resonates in and through them.

Find out what happens when two OU art historians join forces with an environmental filmmaker to tell a new kind of history of climate change. 

We invite you to celebrate with us the publication of the fourth and final volume of the renowned series of Art in Theory anthologies.

This workshop invites contributions around new teaching and research methodologies which can aid expressive and reflective engagement with contemporary global challenges exacerbated by the climate crisis. CFP is open.

Dr Adam Stout will talk about his latest book, Glastonbury Holy Thorn: Story of a Legend (2020), and engage in an interdisciplinary dialogue on ‘Enchanted Trees’ with Dr Jessica Hughes, Dr Marion Bowman, Dr Robert J. Wallis and Dr Maria Nita at The Open University.

Dr Maria Nita, alongside Dr Elaine Kasket and artist Yara El-Sherbini (Arrivals + Departures will talk about the growing use of social media platforms as memorial sites, with bereaved family and friends using the internet as a platform for grief and communication with the deceased.

This live virtual panel reflects on our relationships with wildlife in cities in response to Marco Barotti’s Woodpeckers that are installed in public spaces around Milton Keynes during the IF Festival 2021. The panel opens up conversation between environmentally engaged academics, educators, activists, birders, and the public.

In 2020, The Open University’s interdisciplinary Spaces and Places conference will address the theme of ‘Courtly Encounters’ by exploring instances of cultural exchange that shaped the day-to-day and extraordinary experiences of court life. CFP is open.