CAA News Today

We’re delighted to announce the Distinguished Scholar session at the 109th CAA Annual Conference will honor Salah M. Hassan.

Salah M. Hassan. Photo: Jason Koski, Cornell University Photography (UREL)

Salah M. Hassan is the Goldwin Smith Professor of African and African Diaspora Art History and Visual Culture in the Department of Africana Studies and Research Center, as well as in the Department of History of Art and Visual Studies, and also serves as Director of the Institute for Comparative Modernities at Cornell University, Ithaca, USA. Hassan is also the Director of The Africa Institute, Sharjah, UAE. Hassan served as Professor of History of Art in African and African American Studies and Fine Art at Brandeis University, where he previously awarded the Madeleine Haas Russell Professorship in the Departments of African and Afro-American Studies and Fine Arts (2016-2017).

Hassan is a founding-editor of Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art (Duke University Press). He currently serves as a member of the editorial advisory board of Atlantica, Journal of Curatorial Studies, and international Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, and served as consulting editor for African Arts. Hassan has contributed numerous essays to journals, anthologies, and exhibition catalogues of contemporary art, and has guest edited a special issue of SAQ: South Atlantic Quarterly, entitled African Modernism (2010). He has authored, edited, and co-edited several books, including Ibrahim El Salahi: A Visionary Modernist (2013); Darfur and the Crisis of Governance: A Critical Reader (2009); Diaspora, Memory, Place (2008); Unpacking Europe (2001); Authentic/Ex-Centric (2001; Gendered Visions: The Art of Contemporary Africana Women Artists (1997); and Art and Islamic Literacy among the Hausa of Northern Nigeria (1992), among others. Most recently, Hassan edited and introduced Ibrahim El-Salahi: Prison Notebook (MoMA and Sharjah Art Foundation Publications, 2018), and the forthcoming Ahmed Morsi: A Dialogic Imagination (Sharjah Art Foundation, 2020).

Hassan has curated a number of international exhibitions in museums and at major Biennales such as Venice and Dak’Art, including Authentic/Ex-Centric (49th Venice Biennale, 2001), Unpacking Europe (Rotterdam, 2001-02), and 3×3: Three Artists/Three: David Hammons, Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Pamela Z (Dak’Art, 2004), among others. He curated Ibrahim El Salahi: A Visionary Modernist was published in 2012 held at The Tate Modern in London (2013) after premiering at the Sharjah Art Museum in Sharjah, UAE (2013). In addition, he also co-curated The Khartoum School: The Making of the Modern Art Movement in Sudan, 1945-2016 (2016-2017) and When Art Becomes Liberty: The Egyptian Surrealists (1938–1965) (2016) funded by the Sharjah Art Foundation.

He is the recipient of fellowships including the J. Paul Getty Postdoctoral Fellowship as well as major grants from Sharjah Art Foundation, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Afrique en Créations, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the Prince Claus Fund.

This session will highlight his career and provide an opportunity for dialogue between and among colleagues. The panel will include Dr. Hassan as well as the following: Chika Okeke-Agulu (Princeton University); Elizabeth Giorgis (University of Addis Ababa); and Iftikhar Dadi (Cornell University).

The live online Q&A will be held Thursday, February 11, 2021, 10:30-11:15 am EST.

Dear CAA Members,

We write to update you on planning for the CAA 2021 Annual Conference. The Annual Conference Committee has read and reviewed over 800 session proposals and identified those to be included in the robust program, which includes 350 sessions.

CAA will hold its 109th Annual Conference as a virtual program on February 10–13, 2021, with 30 percent of conference content concerning the topic of climate crisis. Scholars and practitioners will address the environment not only through the content of artworks but also by speaking to how we can and should change our professional practices in light of this crisis.

The program for CAA 2021 reflects the vast scholarship and practice of CAA members and includes an impressive number of sessions focused on global and environmental issues with significant (though not exclusive) emphasis on the contemporary. Intersectional content is strongly represented, including sessions concerning race and gender and race and ecology. The practical consequences of COVID-19 are also evident, particularly as related to exhibitions, research, and teaching. This focus reflects the impact of the pandemic on the field, the uncertain future for institutions and individuals, and the sudden greater reliance on technology to solve problems in an ever-changing environment.

Providing content in a virtual format for 2021 preserves and enhances access to the program and allows conference attendance to be expanded beyond its usual boundaries. Individuals will have extended opportunities to hear session content on their own schedules between adjunct positions, family care, and other obligations. Both those who have never attended the CAA Annual Conference and those who haven’t recently will discover new ways to join the community and hear scholarship and practice.

Session presenters will upload their prerecorded presentations, which conference registrants may access online shortly before and through the conference dates. Live Q&A will be scheduled for each session between February 10 and 13, providing the collegial, interactive, and accountable engagement created by attending sessions as a community. Questions about session presentations may be submitted to session chairs after viewing a session in advance of the scheduled live Q&A. Uploaded content will be accessible to registrants for a limited time after the conference dates. We will provide detailed information for presenters and attendees closer to the conference.

We are currently creating the schedule and will be addressing other program components in the early fall. The full program will be posted when the Annual Conference website opens in November. Registration will also open at that time.

Thank you for your patience and flexibility over the next couple of months as the planning continues. We have been creating a list to address your frequently asked questions; please email additional questions to programs@collegeart.org. We look forward to coming together virtually to share scholarship and practice in community.

Best wishes,

Meme Omogbai
Executive Director and CEO

We will update this page frequently. Thanks for your patience and flexibility! 

This information is current as of September 10, 2020.

Why are we changing the conference format? 

As we announced in our letter to CAA members, since the COVID-19 pandemic began, CAA’s prime consideration for planning the 2021 conference has been the health and safety of our membership and our communities. Even as parts of our world begin to “reopen,” we face many unknowns on what the state of health and safety will be in February.   

We had hoped to convene a fully in-person conference in New York this February 10–13, 2021. However, the pandemic and uncertainty of the months ahead—as well as increasing economic pressures on institutions and individuals, leading to diminished funds for professional development and travel—have caused us to rethink our plans.   

How did CAA come to this decision and why decide now?  

Our decision was informed by a robust response (almost 1,200 replies!) to a survey sent to members in May regarding their ideas about CAA hosting an online conference. Exceptionally useful feedback was provided in terms of what types of activities would be appealing to attend online, the value of in-person gatherings, and what price points seem reasonable. We are building on what you shared with us.  

There are many factors in determining the costs and benefits of going online; these are currently being evaluated by CAA staff and will continue to be addressed as we move forward. But making this decision now allows staff and the Annual Conference Committee time to plan for an iteration of the conference that will ensure the core benefits of the event are maintained: opportunities to share new research, listen to esteemed artists, designers, and scholars, and connect with peers.   

What will the conference look like?  

The program will include conference sessions online. We are also looking at ways to present other conference activities in person, depending on the state of the pandemic in early 2021.   

After the Annual Conference Committee selects sessions to be included in the program, we will build a four-day conference with the same basic structure as the usual in-person conference, possibly with fewer sessions per day. We are also considering an extended schedule for sharing virtual sessions; the details of this will be determined in August, after the sessions are selected.  

We are currently exploring options for other aspects of the conference (e.g., the Book and Trade Fair, Workshops, poster sessions, receptions) and will know more once the session content is scheduled.  

We are taking into account the many concerns members have expressed about virtual presentations, such as sharing scholarship online, the challenges of different time zones, and “Zoom fatigue.”   

Lastly, we will be surveying those whose sessions are accepted for the Annual Conference to understand technical and practical preferences for presenting their work so that we can address everyone’s particular needs and concerns.   

We thank you for your patience as we address these issues. Please stay tuned for more details.  

How has this affected the key dates for the conference?   

Our submissions timeline was affected by the spring COVID-19 crisis and pushed back the overall planning process by roughly a month. The updated key dates are posted on the conference website and can be found at the bottom of the proposals page.   

When will I know if my proposal has been accepted?  

The Annual Conference Committee is currently reviewing the 800-plus proposal submissions and is on schedule to select those that will be included in the conference program. This process will be completed by mid– to late August and members whose submissions have been accepted will be notified.   

Can I still submit a proposal/paper?   

Yes. While the portal has closed for session submissions for CAA 2021, there are still ways to submit.  

1. Sessions inviting a call for participation (CFP) will be open from August 12 to September 16, 2020. A list of accepted sessions that are soliciting contributors and their abstracts will be posted at the beginning of August on the CAA website. VISIT HERE for more information. The chairs of accepted sessions that are soliciting contributors will accept proposals directly from submitters by September 23.  

1. Visit Call for Proposals for posters sessions and Workshops and related deadlines and participation requirements.   

How will papers be delivered during CAA2021?  

Session presenters will upload their prerecorded presentations, which conference registrants may access online shortly before and through the conference dates. Live Q&A will be scheduled for each session between February 10 and 13, providing the collegial, interactive, and accountable engagement created by attending sessions as a community. Questions about session presentations may be submitted to session chairs after viewing a session in advance of the scheduled live Q&A. Uploaded content will be accessible to registrants for a limited time after the conference dates. We will provide detailed information for presenters and attendees closer to the conference. 

I have questions and concerns about presenting virtually and sharing my work. If I’m accepted, what can I do to prepare?  

CAA and our technical support team will share guidelines for preparing for virtual sessions, including preconference webinars to walk both presenters and audience members through the technology of participation.  

CAA’s Annual Conference Committee, legal counsel, and staff are working on protocols and guidelines regarding best practices to protect the intellectual property of participants. This information will be made available on the CAA website in early fall.  

When will the conference website open and registration begin?  

The Annual Conference website will go live in November 2020. At that time, you will see the session listings and details on other conference programming. You may also register for the conference at that time.  

Will conference registration and fees change?  

Registration options and fees will be posted in early November 2020. Information provided by the conference survey will help determine the fee structure.   

In order to present at the Annual Conference, you must be a current CAA member and also registered for the conference.  

What will be free and open to the public for CAA2021?   

Programming by the Services to Artists Committee and the Student and Emerging Professionals Committee will be free and open to the public. A full list of free and open programming will be noted on the Annual Conference website when it opens in November 2020.  

HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION? 

For FAQs about Annual Conference Logistics, Submissions, Conference Registration, Membership, and Calls for Participation, VISIT HERE. 

STILL HAVE A QUESTION? 

We know we may not have answered all of your questions. Please let us know! Email questions to programs@collegeart.org.  

We will update this page frequently. Thanks for your patience and flexibility!