Aarhus Institute for Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, 

May 18-20, 2026.

Call for papers: Anticipation and Aesthetics 

In an era shaped by ecosystemic crises, rapid technological transformation, hypercapitalism, and a socio-political condition marked by global uncertainty, anticipation is a central mode through which individuals, groups, and societies engage. Anticipation operates through rhythm, rupture, experiences, expectations, relations, isolation, fear, hope, patterns, and deviations within the expanded aesthetic field. Anticipation is simultaneously produced and productive in itself, its possible effects are untamable and unpredictable, yet it is strategically mobilized across economic, socio-political, technological, cultural, and not least aesthetic spheres and practices. 

This call invites scholars, artists, and practitioners from diverse disciplines to explore dimensions of anticipation through the lenses of aesthetic theories, spheres, and practices. Contributions may consider philosophical notions of anticipation and their relation to aesthetic theory; ways in which anticipation works across economic, socio-political, technological, and cultural spheres; the possible effects and affects of anticipation in art, artistic practices, or everyday aesthetic experiences. We hope to establish fruitful dialogues between speculative and practise-based fields of thought.

Possible topics for contributions include, but are not limited to:

● The role of anticipation in aesthetic experience

● Rhythm and anticipation 

● Anticipation and protention

● Emotional and affective dimensions of anticipating possible futures

● The role of algorithms in shaping anticipation, desires, choices, and expectations

● Anticipation and socio-political change, e.g. in relation to artistic world-making

● Creative, speculative, and artistic engagements with anticipation

● Contemporaneity and aesthetic experiences of rhythm, fear, and hope 

● Infrastructures of anticipation: from policy-making to platform design

● The role of anticipation in architecture and urban planning

● Artistic and narrative practices of anticipation in digital environments (and beyond)

Keynote speakers:

Professor Nanette Nielsen, Institutt for musikkvitenskap – RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion (IMV), Oslo University.

Associate Professor Mikkel Krause Frantzen, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, Copenhagen University

Presentation formats

The conference will be organized at Aarhus University, Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, and will be organized in plural formats. We welcome proposals for individual papers, panels, workshops, and practice-based presentations. All formats are open to artistic contributions and practitioner perspectives.

1) Individual papers

Individual papers will be allocated a time slot of 20 minutes, plus 10 minutes for discussion. When submitting your proposal, please make sure to use the compulsory word template for abstracts (250 words), 3–5 keywords and a biographical note (100 words).

2) Panels

In order to ensure coherence, we encourage the participants to submit proposals composed of three individual papers of approx. 15 minutes each. When submitting your proposal, please make sure to use the compulsory word template for abstracts (250 words), 3–5 keywords and biographical note (100 words). Please also include a short presentation (200 words) of the panel theme as a whole.

3) Workshops or practice-based sessions

We welcome proposals for workshops and other practice-based presentation formats. In general, such contributions should promote active participation while exploring new ideas. The duration can be up to 2 hours. If you would like to propose a workshop or another practice-based session format, please contact the organizers by email (see below).

We plan this conference as an in situ event; therefore we encourage you to join us in the debates. Nevertheless, in case you cannot come, we will accept a limited number of online presentations.

Submission and deadlines

Please submit your proposal via the conference homepage under the headline “Abstract 

submission.”

https://aias.au.dk/events/call-for-papers-anticipation-and-aesthetics

The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2026.

Notifications of acceptance will be sent out at the latest by March 1, 2026.

Questions

If you have any questions, please get in touch with the conference organizers: Maj Bjørn Ørskov (mbo@cc.au.dk), Birgitte Stougaard Pedersen (birgittestougaard@cc.au.dk), and Mette-Marie Zacher-Sørensen.

For more information, please visit the website:

https://aias.au.dk/events/call-for-papers-anticipation-and-aesthetic