International Conference

MUDE - Museu do Design, Lisboa

30 e 31 January 2025

Conference


Until 30th September 2024, the call is open for 20-minute communications with or without article publication in International Journal of Film and Media Arts.

Inaugural conference of the Visions of the Future project, organized in partnership by MUDE - Design Museum and COFAC (Lusofona University), with the support of the LisbonCityCouncil.


The initiative will take place downtown at MUDE and aims to provide a conceptual platform (political, cultural, methodological) on which to develop future activities. The objective is to lay the interpretative foundations of the project through an invitation to the participation of the research community and/or speculative Design practices.


Visions of the Future* is a collaborative research project which delves into the role of visual communication under the unique political landscape of the Iberian Peninsula (and all other territories within Spain and Portugal) during its transition to democracy in the late 20th century. By partnering with researchers and institutions, the project aims to uncover, investigate, and share this vibrant cultural legacy.


The conference objective is to explore methodologies that contribute to an interpretation of the emergence of archives in design, going beyond the historicist and sequential perspective, opening them to transition. We expect contributions that result from reflection on the implementation of democratic systems that have led to a flourishing cultural landscape, with counterculture movements challenging existing norms and ideologies. Through the study of visual culture and graphic design, this conference seeks to shed light on the diverse and vibrant legacy of cultural heritage in the Iberian Peninsula, contributing to a deeper understanding of this crucial historical and cultural period.

*Visions of the Future is a pilot-project of the Iberian Design Archives, a network of research centers and institutions, engaged to promote a shared study of visual culture between Portugal and Spain. Hosted by DESIGN ID (Universidade Lusófona, Lisboa) and BAU Research (BAU, Centro Universitario de Artes y Diseño de Barcelona).

About

    The last decades of the 20th century were the stage of a particular cultural bloom in Southern Europe, which led to a rapid modernisation of this region. A series of conter culture movements shaped what would become contemporary culture in this part of Europe, especially in the Iberian Peninsula, fostered by the implementation of two democracies.


    The research on visual culture and graphic design focuses on the emergence of contemporary culture in the context of the implementation of democratic systems in the Iberian Peninsula at the end of the 20th century. Portugal and Spain share not only a centuries-old complex history, but also peculiar contexts in the late 1970s: the end of totalitarian regimes in Portugal in 1974, and Spain in 1977. Both countries share heavy colonial heritages, latin roots, strong catholic dominance and crucially, the geographic distance from central europe, and their cultural centers.


    A complex transition culture swept the two countries in the difficult process of overcoming decades of poverty, censorship and underdeveloped social customs and habits. Under similar circumstances, Portugal and Spain were driven to keep up with the pace of European development: with the implementation of democratic policies, economic growth and social improvement, the emergence of popular culture, the consolidation of consumption habits and the openness to cultural diversity.


    These transformations occurred under the scope of the postmodern debate, a wider and complex reaction to modernist ideology, in which objects and authors were deeply politically-engaged and all forms of authority and power establishment were fiercely questioned. The introduction of alternative debates on gender, environment, cultural minorities, high versus low culture were also a manifestation of this cultural transformation period. A broad range of graphic references were conjured: vernacular symbols, historical references, retro styles, pastiche and parody, digital graphics, techno, punk, grunge, at a time of fast technological developments.


    Aware of the understudied and underexplored relations between the movements that emerged after such a pivotal stage of development of these two Southern-European countries and design— which were crucial in shaping today’s visual culture—this project proposes a joint effort from researchers and diverse institutions, in order to trace, challenge, nurture and share a fascinating legacy of cultural heritage in Europe.



    Key Themes of the Study:

    Due to its multidimensional nature, the range of the study is wide and diversified. We propose its implementation based on key themes that are relevant to the understanding of the complexity of this historical and cultural period. The points of convergence of all branches are the graphic objects produced under the scope of each theme, as well as other forms of visual materials. Visual culture relies on a variety of graphics devices used to make a critical lineage of this historic moment: booklets, newspapers, magazines, posters, flyers, fanzines, graffiti or mural paintings, (handmade) banners, among others. Given the specific nature of each theme, complementary media can also be considered, such as films, videoclips, TV ads.


    Transitionless: Modernism, Antimodernism, Countermodernism, Postmodernism

    The long duration of dictatorships in both countries (Spain 1939–1975, Portugal 1933–1974), prevented the circulation of social and cultural values and commodities. The “spontaneous” flow of modernist ideology across central europe did not have official and full expression in the iberian countries, due partly to efficient censorship mechanisms operated by the totalitarian regimes and also because of long-term national cultural traditions based on historic exceptionalism. The consequences of these cultural conditions had an impact in the visual culture and their emancipation in the context of these recently implemented democracies.


    Subcultural movements in Iberia

    Democratic policies became increasingly permissive and allowed the
    expression of several subcultural movements in the public space. The moral emancipation of mundane habits, lead to the
    proliferation of social behaviours, formerly marginalised by late regimes. Headed mostly by young generations, these
    movements were profoundly collective, local, libertarian, urban and took the streets, the nightlife, the underground
    of the cities to claim their right of expression. The anti-dictatorship dynamics, led by students, workers and intellectuals,
    often grouped in clandestine organisations, were soon confronted by apparently less politicized processes that became modes
    of micro-political expression, such as punk rock concerts, drag shows, fashion shows, ecology groups, feminist circles, nightclubs,
    rave parties, and others sparkled all around urban centers, contributing to important cultural shifts. While mostly existing
    against the grain, it was the graphic culture that many times facilitated communication, self-and collective expression, as well
    as a sense of belonging.


    Feminist review/ erased histories

    Challenging a historical perspective dominated by male representation in the graphic design field, which led to an overwhelming underrepresentation of women in the history of graphic design and visual culture, this study paves the way for the inscription of women and other ignored persons in the history of graphic design during this period in the Iberian Peninsula.


    Decolonial perspective

    Decolonization processes took place under different conditions in both countries, with varying impacts on colonised countries and their citizens. It led to the emergence of new forms of expression, and it also helped to open up these societies to new ideas and influences. In Portugal, the process occurred abruptly in the aftermath of the Colonial War, whose one of the most immediate consequences was the return of thousands of Portuguese emigrant families to Africa. The “returnees” contributed to opening up social diversity and visual culture, bringing more tolerant values and less conservative behaviour towards gender and racial minorities. In Spain, the transition period came with little reflection on the colonial past and present, as seen in Western Sahara and the Spanish enclaves in Morocco, let alone in relation to American colonial memory. Nonetheless, the cultural exchange between various American countries and Spain, especially due to the migration of thousands of people fleeing dictatorships in the South American cone, led to important developments in the field of graphic design and publishing.

Program


2 days conference
1 keynote speaker in the morning, followed by 3-2 smaller communication sessions.
1 keynote speaker in the afternoon, followed by 3-2 smaller communication sessions.
Each keynote speaker has a 30 minute presentation, followed by a 15 minute debate.
Session speakers have 20 minutes presentation time, followed by 15 minutes debate.

The conference should be recorded, further available online.

All participants will have free access to the Museum ongoing exhibitions


Tickets will be available after October 18th...

Call for papers

Call for 20-minute communications until September 30, 2024.
Propose your participation by submitting a 300-word abstract. Create your profile to suggest integrating your work into the available thematic panels.
Participations are accepted in Portuguese, Spanish and English.
With the possibility of publishing an article in a special edition in the International Journal of Film and Media Arts, FilmEU/Universidade Lusófona (Scopus Q2).


For submission sign in.


The results of the submissions will be announced on October 18th, 2024.

Thematic panels

  • 01 – POLITICS AND MATERIALITY OF TERMS: ARCHIVES | IBERIA | IBEROAMERICA
  • - What is a design archive today? What methodologies of reading and acquisition policies can be implemented to bring new frameworks of interpretation to the surface?
  • - Design and heritage: how the heritage configuration between high and low cultures affects the production of archives and memory?
  • - Iberian cultures and societies: The policy making of a problematic term
    • 02 – CULTURE AND LANGUAGE: SOCIETIES IN TRANSITION
  • - Modernism and the Iberian context: Postmodernism, antimodernism, countermodernism, modernism? Between myths: Homologation and exceptionality. North and South.
  • - Consumption and consumerism: Portugal and Spain as neoliberal labs and the influence of a shift in design
  • - The impact of graphic design (also industrial, product, spatial) on the middle classes and subcultures. Between creativity and domestication.
  • - National branding: democracy, memory and global markets (National pavilions, tourism, soft power, financial institutions, corporations)
    • 03 – ERASED HISTORIES: FROM FEMINIST REVIEW TO DECOLONIAL PERSPECTIVE
  • - Feminist review of the graphic design history in Portugal and Spain
  • - Design, colonialism, materiality and political transition
  • - Exiles and design in Portugal and Spain
  • - Transition and subcultures of design. From politically engaged practices to community centered activities. The role of “peripheral” communities (feminist, LGTBIQ+, ecologist, pop music, magazines, comic, DIY publishing)
    • 04 – LANGUAGE & RESEARCH ON DESIGN
  • - Discussion on research models and outcomes for an Iberian Design Archives (IDA)
  • - Alternative research methods, tools and processes towards the decolonization of history of design
  • - Interdisciplinary perspectives on design research
  • Keynote speakers

    To Be Announced...

    Executive Commitee


    Bárbara Coutinho, Director of MUDE - Design Museum; Invited Associate Professor (IST/UL) and researcher at CITUA – Center for Innovation in Territory, Urbanism, and Architecture.


    Luís Alegre, Director of DELLI (Design Lusófona Lisboa); Director, BA & MA in Communication Design (Lisbon), at Lusófona University.


    Francisco Laranjo, Associate Lecturer at Central Saint Martins, Editor of the design criticism journal Modes of Criticism, Co-director of the Shared Institute, Assistant Professor at Lusófona University, Lisbon.


    Jaron Rowan, BAU, Research director and coordinator of the PhD Unit at BAU, College of Arts and Design of Barcelona.

    Organizing Committee


    Patrícia Cativo, Assistant Professor in the Communication Design course at Lusofóna University, Lisbon, coordinator of VoF project.


    Jorge Marzo, Teacher at BAU, College of Arts and Design of Barcelona and member of GREDITS, Group of Research in Design and Social Transformation.


    Inês Correia, Head Conservator of Design Archives at MUDE - Design Museum, with particular responsibility for the Graphic Design collections.


    Technical-Scientific Committee


    To Be Announced...

    Partners



    info@visionsofthefutureconference.com
    Mude - Museu do Design
    Rua Augusta, 24
    1100-053 Lisboa, Portugal