Here is a call for papers for VIII Coloquio ¿Del otro lao?: perspectivas y debates sobre lo cuir [On the other side?: Queer perspectives and debates] to take place on March 3-5, 2020, at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez. The colloquium will focus on “Queer Art and Activism in Contemporary Puerto Rico.” The deadline for proposal submission is November 11, 2019.

Since 2006, the Colloquium ¿Del otro lao? has been a forum at UPR-Mayagüez and the western region of Puerto Rico for discussions of queer topics in all their diversity.

Requirements for Proposals:

• Title and type of event
• Name, preferred pronoun, affiliation, mini-bio (100 words max.) and email of each participant
• Abstract including contents and objectives of the proposed event (500 words max.)
• AV needs
• If applicable, request for remote participation via Internet (limited spaces) Submit proposals here: https://forms.gle/HeXYgSjVMeYcoUtW9
• 2 proposals max. per person

Proposals are accepted in English and Spanish. We welcome especially, though not exclusively, proposals in response to the 8th edition’s main theme: QUEER ART AND ACTIVISM IN CONTEMPORARY PUERTO RICO. All proposals should explicitly demonstrate an engagement with queer topics. Proposals showing any form of prejudice or discrimination will not be accepted. Proposals that do not follow the instructions in this Call will be automatically disqualified.

Suggested (Not Exclusive) Areas

• Forms of queer political art and queer artistic politics
• Queer responses and challenges to Puerto Rico’s current “crisis”
• Queer aRtivist strategies
• Queer art, activism and community self-organization
• Queer art, activism and diverse sovereignties
• Inter-artistic relations against Puerto Rico’s current “crisis”
• Puerto Rico’s art institutions and independent art in the contemporary political scenario
• Activism diversification in today’s Puerto Rico

Registration Fees (for Presenters Only)

• $60 – faculty and other professionals with regular positions
• $35 – faculty and other professionals with temporary contracts
• $35 – retirees
• $25 – graduate students
• FREE – general public, undergraduate and school students, activists, independent artists, community organizers, and unemployed or underemployed folks

Types of events

PANELS – Constituted by the Programming Committee on the basis of accepted individual paper proposals. Organized around a common theme in sessions of 3 or 4 interventions. Each panelist will have twenty (20) minutes for their intervention. Dialogue with the audience follows each panel.

ROUNDTABLES – Constituted in advance by proponents. Roundtables approach a theme or question from different perspectives. They will consist of a maximum of 4 speakers, who will equitably distribute their time. Dialogue with the audience follows each roundtable.

WORKSHOPS – Dynamic activity with specific objectives and an expected product from participants. The proposal should include the purposes and expected product. It should also mention whether it is intended for a particular audience and whether there is any restriction on the number of participants.

ARTISTIC EVENTS – These include experimental performances, film screenings and discussions, poetic readings, art exhibitions, and musical presentations related to queer topics. Dialogue with the audience follows all such interventions.

EXHIBITION TABLES AND POSTERS – These offer visual information and free materials about community-based, activist, or artistic projects by groups or collectives. The audience, composed of the Colloquium’s participants and the broad UPRM community, is expected to be itinerant. Accepted proposals of this type must have at least 2 people in charge at all times during the Colloquium’s three days.

International Participation

Participants whose proposals are accepted but cannot travel to Puerto Rico for justifiable reasons must pre-record their interventions and participate live during the Q&A session. This option, for which there are limited spaces, will only be available for participants who reside outside Puerto Rico or the United States of America. Regrettably, there are no traveling funds available.

Important Dates

Nov. 11, 2019 – Deadline for Proposal Submission

Nov. 25, 2019 – Notification of Committee’s Decision

Dec. 13 – 27, 2019 – Deadline for Participation Confirmation and Early-Bird Registration (Regular Fee)

Dec. 28, 2019 – Jan. 8, 2020 – Deadline for Late Registration (+$10/Category)

Questions? Contact us at: delotrolao@gmail.com  FB: https://www.facebook.com/delotrolao/

Tw: @DelOtro_Lao