*The below text is a summarized version of the full call – download the full call here.*
Climate, Arts, and Activism: Critical Inter- and Transdisciplinary Perspectives
Co-edited by Yvonne Schmidt (Bern Academy of the Arts), Susan Thieme (University of Bern) and Mirko Winkel (University of Bern)
All proposals, suggestions, and questions to: yvonne.schmidt[at]hkb.bfh.ch
Deadline for abstracts: 15th of October 2025
The debate about the socio-ecological crisis has moved to the center of society. What conditions and practices are needed for art-science collaborations that will contribute to transforming society towards critical climate and ecological justice? That is the guiding question for the proposed special issue.
This themed issue of the peer-reviewed journal ACME on “Climate, arts, and activism: Inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives”, calls for contributions that reflect on how art-science collaborations in the field of climate change and ecological justice engage with (trans-)local or international/art communities. It will explore the complexities between art, science, and the so-called public, i.e. the different stakeholders involved in such collaborations. In the context of transdisciplinary research, we ask for a critical reflection on the processes of co-creation, defining problems, roles and responsibilities, identifying relevant stakeholders, understanding and integrating different perspectives, dismantling power relations, challenging dominant systems of knowledge production, and ensuring ethical considerations.
We welcome contributions from different academic disciplines (geography, environmental humanities, sustainability studies, transformation research), artistic research and submissions, design research, and other fields of practice. Proposals are encouraged from regions, cultures, and people that have not been previously featured or addressed in the discourses and scholarship.
Contributions
We welcome contributions to this themed issue of ACME within the scope of ACME’s topics (see: https://acme-journal.org/index.php/acme/about). Contributions may be represented in a wide variety of formats to capture and reflect the scope and range of perspectives. The language of the issue is English. We invite journal articles (up to 9,000 words), roundtables, interviews, and visual analyses, as well as creative or multimedia contributions, including poetry, comics, & speculative fiction, performances, or podcasts.
For a detailed list of accepted formats please check: https://acme-journal.org/index.php/acme/subformats
Responses to the theme may consider some of the following questions:
- Who is typically addressed in art-science collaborations, who is effectively reached, and crucially, who is overlooked?
- How can we move beyond existing bubbles and actively include communities and stakeholders often excluded from these dialogues?
- What constitutes fruitful failure in collaborative projects?
- How can art-science collaborations move from temporary interventions to sustainable, structural transformations in institutions and communities?
- What lessons can we learn from past successes and challenges to foster lasting impact beyond social media visibility?
- What are the criteria for successful transdisciplinary collaborations?
- Which terms are used in the context of transdisciplinary collaboration and how should they be reframed and reinterpreted?
- How is epidemic justice negotiated?
- What are the implications of the collaborations for the institutions?
- What methods or practices have successfully increased the accessibility of these collaborations to marginalized or non-academic communities?
- What strategies exist to sustain the momentum and relationships formed during time- limited arts-science projects beyond their funding period?
- To what extent do arts-science collaborations intentionally adopt activist methods, and how do these approaches influence public perception and credibility?
- What ethical questions arise when blending activism with science and art, particularly regarding objectivity, advocacy, and neutrality?
- How do funding structures influence or limit the activist potential and political neutrality of these collaborations?
Timeline
We welcome abstracts of 400 words including a short bibliography of the author(s) (100 words each) to be sent to: yvonne.schmidt[at]hkb.bfh.ch by 15th of October 2025. Notification on acceptance will be given by 15th of November 25. The deadline for full submissions is on 1st of April 2026. The special issue will be published in 2027.