Circulation has become a key concept in understanding the dynamics of the art market in a globalised world. It is also a longstanding object of enquiry in art history and related disciplines. Whether considering the physical movement of artworks, the social and geographic trajectories of artists, or the diffusion of ideas, norms, and practices, circulation plays a foundational role in shaping the economic, aesthetic, legal, and cultural dimensions of the art market.
We welcome research articles that employ rigorous theoretical or empirical (quantitative and/or qualitative) approaches, as well as practitioners’ perspectives notes, on the forms, conditions, and effects of circulation in the art market from a multidisciplinary perspective from across arts, humanities and social sciences. We invite contributions from scholars and practitioners in art history, tourism, cultural and heritage studies, economics, management, sociology, law, anthropology, communication, and other relevant fields.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
• Artistic Mobility and the Reconfiguration of the Market. Contributions will focus on movements, and underlying motives of artists and other market players –voluntary (e.g., education, exhibitions, residencies), constrained (e.g., exile, war), or strategic (accessing
new markets)– and their consequences on artistic careers and market hierarchies. How do artists, galleries, and other businesses circulate across more-or-less-open ecosystems? How do institutions facilitate or hinder such mobilities?
• Transfers of Models, Ideas, and Norms. This topic focuses on the immaterial forms of circulation: aesthetic theories, critical discourses, professional practices, and legal or economic models applied to the art market. What happens when global models of regulation or sales are transposed into local contexts? How do ideas, values, and norms
around art circulate and change?
• The Circulation of Artworks and Logics of Valorisation. This topic focuses on the physical mobility of artworks. It invites reflections on the practical and institutional mechanisms that govern circulation and its impact on artistic, financial, and symbolic values. How does movement contribute to the legitimation or speculation of artworks and what are the key factors, and actors, enabling or restricting circulation?
• Legal, Fiscal, and Political Frameworks of Circulation. Circulation is never detached from its regulatory frameworks. This topic points to the legal, fiscal, and political instruments that govern the movement of artworks and artists: resale rights, import/export regulations,
tax policies, restitution laws, etc. How do states, institutions, and international bodies seek to control or promote circulation? What tensions arise between market logic, heritage preservation, and identity, or decolonial claims?
Please submit an abstract of 400 words of your proposed paper and a short biography of 50 words to Larbi Safaa (l.safaa@uca.ac.ma) ccd. to saoualihabdellah@gmail.com and Adriana Turpin (adrianaturpin@gmail.com) before 31 December 2025.
Notice of acceptance will be given by 21 January 2026. Please note that this will be a fully in-person workshop. Candidates should ensure that they can attend the workshop in person if they are accepted to present at the workshop.
Attendance fee: 40 euros
Scientific Committee:
• Larbi Safaa, Cadi Ayyad University, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Laboratory for
Studies on Resources, Mobility, and Attractiveness (LERMA), Centre of Excellence Tourism and Hospitality Management School, Marrakech, Morocco
• Elisabetta Lazzaro, Epsom School of Creative Business, Fashion and Enterprise, University for the Creative Arts, UK
• Nathalie Moureau, RiRRa21, University Paul Valéry Montpellier, France
• Adriana Turpin, IESA Arts&Culture. Paris, France
For additional information, visit arthist.net/archive/50975 (source of this call)
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