Representing women
Images, bodies and imaginaries. How women are shown, and by whom.
1st International Symposium · Dakar, Senegal
Women in the arts.
Representation and representativeness.A framework for reflection and action on the place of women in the arts, led by Les Cultur'Elles, through an interdisciplinary and international approach.
March 2027
Dakar, Senegal
Call for papers to come
2Days of panels
6Themes
10Disciplines
5Formats
To name is to bring into being. To tell the story of women in the arts is to write another history of the world.
Background
Correcting a historical imbalance
Theme of this first edition: representation and representativeness of women in the arts.
The artistic work of women is an essential lever of social, cultural and political change. Yet despite their constant presence in cultural history, women artists still face systemic obstacles: invisibility, precarity, limited access to funding, absence from distribution networks and weak representation within institutions.
In the African and diasporic context, women artists face a double challenge: cultural infrastructure that is still fragile, and a social environment that constrains their mobility, their economic autonomy and their visibility.
Devoting a space to women in the arts is not about setting a group apart. It is about correcting a historical imbalance, repairing a symbolic injustice, and offering a platform for expression, research, production and recognition.
General objective
To promote and strengthen the visibility, recognition and active participation of women across every artistic discipline, by highlighting their contributions, questioning structural inequalities and advancing their representation in creative, institutional and cultural spheres.
Specific objectives
- Examine how women are represented across art forms
- Analyse their presence in institutions, festivals, galleries, publishing houses and distribution networks
- Celebrate African and diasporic women creators who have shaped recent artistic history
- Encourage scholarship by women on African art
- Connect researchers, artists and cultural professionals
Themes
Six ways into one question
Each theme has its own panel and set of academic papers.
Institutions and cultural policy
Towards parity in the arts? Programming, juries, committees and leadership.
Memory, archives and transmission
What is kept, what disappears, and how a female inheritance passes on in the arts.
Contemporary creation and resistance
The women's voices on today's scene and the forms they are inventing.
Language, gender and aesthetics
New work, new images. What the creator's gaze shifts.
Diplomacy and circulation
Women in globalised art: mobility, networks and international cooperation.
Format
Two days, five formats
The symposium is not only round tables: it exhibits, it produces and it publishes.
Panels and papers
Round tables and academic papers across the six themes.
Exhibition: women, art and visual memory
An exhibition runs for the full duration of the symposium.
Performance
A closing performance, followed by a reception bringing speakers and audience together.
Screening and discussion
A masterclass or screening with the invited artists present.
Published proceedings
Contributions are collected in an associated publication, Women and the Arts.
Expected outcomes
What the symposium must produce
A well made symposium does not stop at discussion: it changes structures.
Diagnosis and awareness
Establish a documented picture of how women are represented across artistic sectors, and identify the obstacles limiting their participation.
Sharing what works
Circulate, among artists, researchers, critics and curators, the strategies that have actually succeeded.
Recommendations and roadmap
Set out concrete measures: gendered indicators, targeted funding, inclusion in juries and artistic committees.
Producing knowledge
Publish the proceedings and encourage academic research on the place of women in the arts.
Visibility for artists
Create opportunities to exhibit, perform and distribute, and give rise to collaborative projects and residencies.
Advocacy and capacity
Take the findings to institutions and funders, and train in gender issues through workshops and masterclasses.
Audience
Who it is for
- Researchers in the arts, humanities, gender studies and social sciences
- Artists, curators and conservators
- Students and cultural journalists
- Directors of public and private cultural institutions
- Cultural associations and the general public
An international reach
The symposium brings together voices and experience from Senegal, Africa, the diaspora and beyond, in a shared building of knowledge.
Provisional timeline
The stages
Exact dates will be published here as soon as they are settled.
Launch and call for papers
The call opens and circulates among research networks and artistic circles.
Submission deadline
Closing date for proposals.
Speakers confirmed
Selection by the scientific committee and confirmation of the programme.
The symposium
Two days in Dakar, in March 2027.
Proceedings published
Publication of the associated volume gathering the contributions.
Expected partnerships
Building with institutions
The symposium is built with public institutions, universities, international organisations and committed businesses.
- Ministry of Culture, Crafts and Tourism
- Ministry of Communication and the Digital Economy
- Senegalese universities
- Institut Français du Sénégal
- Goethe Institut
- OIF and UNESCO
- Local businesses
- Foundations for culture and for women
Take part
Taking part in the symposium
Papers
Call for papers to come.
Terms and dates will be published on this page.
Dates
March 2027
The detailed programme will be published in advance.
Venue
Dakar, Senegal
The exact venue will be confirmed with the programme.