Resonant Voices:
Artivism against Silence
There’s really no such thing as ‘the voiceless’. There are only the deliberately silenced or the preferably unheard
– Arundhati Roy
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
The Faculty of Arts and Design at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), in collaboration with the South African Journal of Art History (SAJAH) and the City of Tshwane (CoT), proudly announces the 3rd Annual Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) Symposium.
This three-day event, hosted by the Research Niche Area (Artivism as a tool to combat GBV), will focus on Multi-vocality, Interdisciplinary and Creative Expressions in addressing GBV within higher education and society.
Recognising the urgency and importance of addressing GBV within the higher education context, we invite scholars, artivists, researchers and practitioners to contribute to this dynamic gathering, exploring innovative, arts-based approaches to artivism, healing and advocacy.
Symposium 2026 seeks to foreground the unique role that the creative arts – including, but not limited to fine arts, performance, music, literature, design and digital media – can play in addressing GBV. The symposium will examine how these mediums can help shift the dial on entrenched gender inequalities, challenge harmful societal norms and offer transformative strategies for prevention, intervention and healing.
The symposium will provide a platform for multi-vocal perspectives on GBV, recognising the diversity of experience and approaches necessary to confront this complex issue. We aim to create a space for rich interdisciplinary dialogue where academic research, creative practice and lived experience intersect to generate actionable strategies for change.
We encourage submissions from a wide range of disciplines – including but not limited to visual and performing arts, design, gender studies, sociology, psychology and education. We are particularly interested in contributions that reflect collaborative and community-engaged approaches.
Please note that all accepted abstracts will be eligible for publication in a special edition of the South African Journal of Art History after a rigorous peer review process. Interested participants should therefore take note of the deadlines for article submissions.
We invite proposals for academic papers, panel discussions, performances, workshops, exhibitions and multimedia presentations that engage with the following or related themes:
THEMES
Art for Recovery and Renewal: Examining how creative practices serve pathways for survivors to process trauma, foster healing and reclaim agency.
Cross-Sector Creative Alliances: Highlighting collaborative projects between artists, educators, health professionals and activists that address GBV from multiple perspectives.
Challenging Gendered Power through Art: Exploring how performance and visual arts confront entrenched gender norms and reimagine equitable relations.
Higher Education and GBV: Addressing challenges within educational institutions through creative, educational and policy interventions.
Art as Reflection of Social Norms: Exploring how art illuminates and challenges cultural structures sustaining GBV.
Campus-Based Interventions: Exploring the role of higher education institutions in confronting GBV through arts-based initiatives, pedagogy and policy.
Campus-Based Interventions: Exploring the role of higher education institutions in confronting GBV through arts-based initiatives, pedagogy and policy.
Intersecting Realities: Examining social and cultural dimensions of GBV through sociological and community-based perspectives.
Intersecting Realities: Examining social and cultural dimensions of GBV through sociological and community-based perspectives.
Spatial Justice and Creative Design: Exploring how architectural practices can challenge gendered power structures and foster environments of dignity, safety and belonging.
Unsettling Histories: Exploring historical narratives and artistic responses that expose or redress the legacy of gendered violence.
Knowing GBV: Exploring philosophical approaches to knowledge, perception and truth in artistic engagements with GBV.
Sacred Resistance: Analysing how faith, ritual, and spirituality inform creative responses to GBV.
Embodied Somatic Ecologies: Exploring how the body, memory and environment interconnect in performance practices that confront GBV and cultivate resilience.
POTENTIAL WORKSHOPS/PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Seeing the Unseen: Visual Art as Witness to GBV
Brushstrokes of Healing: Creative Pathways for Survivors
Walls that Speak: Community Art Against Gender Violence
Screens of Resistance: Digital Storytelling and Activism
Types of Contributions
IMPORTANT DATES OF SYMPOSIUM
15 May 2026
Submission of Abstract
30 April 2026
Notification of Acceptance of Abstract
30 June 2026
Final Submission of Materials for Publicity and Programme
3 August 2026
Presentation Submission
5 - 7 August 2026
Symposium Dates
IMPORTANT DATES FOR PUBLICATION IN SAJAH
NB. Those interested in publishing in the SAJAH special edition are to submit their completed articles (approximately 4 000 – 7 000 words) by 31 July 2026 in accordance with the specified guidelines provided to be peer reviewed.
15 May 2026
31 July 2026
August - September 2026
Submission of Articles
Notification of Acceptance of Abstract
Completed article submission
Peer review of completed article
30 April 2026
Publication
October- December 2026
Calls for Participation
CALL FOR PEER-REVIEWERS
To ensure the success of the Research Niche Area Artivism as a tool to combat Gender-Based Violence(s) 3rd Annual GBVF Symposium, we call for peer-reviewers with expertise that align with the 2026 symposium theme, Resonant Voices: Artivism against Silence. Your involvement as a peer reviewer would be invaluable. If you are interested in this opportunity, we kindly request that you complete the application form using the link below. Your positive participation will play a role in shaping the 3rd Annual GBVF Symposium, Resonant Voices: Artivism against Silence. We look forward to your participation.
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Surname, Name, Title/Pronoun
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Email address
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Institutional affiliation
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Area of specialisation
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Curriculum Vitae
CONFERENCE SESSION CHAIRS
To ensure the success of the Research Niche Area Artivism as a tool to combat Gender-Based Violence(s) 3rd Annual GBVF Symposium, we call for session chairs with expertise that align with the 2026 symposium theme, Resonant Voices: Artivism against Silence. Your involvement as a session chair would be invaluable. If you are interested in this opportunity, we kindly request that you complete the application form using the link below. Your positive participation will play a role in presenting a successful 3rd Annual GBVF Symposium, Resonant Voices: Artivism against Silence. We look forward to your participation.
Basic Expectations of Session Chairs
• Familiarise yourself with the content of the papers and/or performances scheduled for your session.
• Introduce the presenters or performers.
• Prepare a few thoughtful questions to stimulate discussion.
• Facilitate the session, ensuring it runs smoothly and on time.
• Provide a brief written summary of the session highlights, which will be included in the day’s concluding remarks.
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Surname, Name, Title/Pronoun
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Email address
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Institutional affiliation
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Area of specialisation
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Abbreviated biography (not more than 200 words)
REGISTRATION
R3000.00
R3 500.00
Early Bird Registration (until 31 May 2026)
Full Registration (from 1 June – 30 June 2026)
R3 500.00
R1 500.00
Daily Registration
Registered Students (proof of registration to be submitted)
All participants/delegates must register.
Registration will be confirmed once payment is confirmed, not later than 30 June 2026.