Call for Papers - Beyond Calligraphy: New Approaches in Contemporary Times

Call for papers - Deadline 2 February 2026

Calligraphy (shufa 书法) has always been regarded as the ‘chief of all Chinese arts’ (Chiang 1973) and a central pillar of Chinese civilization. Writing Chinese characters by hand with a brush is an aesthetically appealing activity that lies at the heart of Chinese culture and national identity. As a means of representation of the universal dynamism, Calligraphy embodies the most important philosophical conceptions of the Chinese thought. It possesses the power to evoke natural forces, to assert and advance social and ideological values and to uphold individual artists’ creativity (Harrist and Fong 1999). Calligraphy has consistently contributed to the continuity of Chinese artistic and cultural tradition, and the emergence of innovative elements in its powerful and extremely coherent tradition has always been a perfect mirror reflecting cultural changes and an active agent in discourses about what constitute ‘Chinese culture’.

The pervasiveness of calligraphy remains strong in contemporary Chinese society, but as early as the mid- 1980s it has undergone a profound renewal (Barrass 2002) shaped by socio-political and economic changes as well as the evolution of creative practices. In this panorama new artistic expressions and art forms related to writing and calligraphy have emerged in unprecedented ways (Luo 2001, Pu & Guo 2005) in all fields of visual arts, performing arts, decorative and applied arts, graffiti as well as in popular contexts. These new practices have entered the arena of international contemporary art in the form of painting-like calligraphy, ink painting, abstract art, conceptual art, photography, multimedia art, etc. In public spaces Chinese characters have been incorporated into graffiti works, and for the first time, they lost their connection with the linguistic meaning, also evolving into pure design elements. The rise of digital technologies has reshaped the terrain of Chinese writing toward screen-based interactions and typing systems, enabling new modes of expression, circulation, and embodiment. It has initiated a new trend of creative calligraphy practice considering new conditions, technologies, sources, and aesthetics and raised questions about the psychological and sensory implications in the digital era.

In both academic and non-academic contexts, public performances and urban cultural events further highlight calligraphy’s role in identity formation, cultural preservation, and social interaction. At the same time, contemporary calligraphy practices carry broader linguistic, socio-political, and economic implications. By reinterpreting traditional aesthetics, these practices generate innovative expressions that are aligned with current societal trends, including educational and community-based initiatives, shaping individual and collective identities, as well as socio-economic and gender dynamics. These contemporary transformations are not confined to China; they extend to the broader Asian context, the Chinese diaspora and non-Chinese artists, fostering cross-cultural dialogues and inspiring fusions in artistic and commercial spheres worldwide.

This conference welcomes papers that can advance critical analysis and broaden multidisciplinary perspectives on the emergence of these new forms of calligraphy and writing practises in contemporary China.

Possible perspectives include but are not limited to:

• Influence of calligraphy on contemporary artworks/artifacts in the fields of visual arts, performing arts, graffiti, digital media, decorative and applied arts, architecture, and design;- Perception of new calligraphic practices in contemporary society including their presence in urban environments, virtual space, educational and community-based applications and commercial exploitation;
• Discussion on the socio-economic impacts and gender dynamics within the emergence of these new forms;
• Psychological, cognitive, and phenomenological implications of bodily engagement in writing, particularly in digital contexts
• Application of digital humanities and/or linguistic/textual studies to calligraphy/writing practices;
• Cross-disciplinary dialogues between Chinese and non-Chinese calligraphic traditions from philosophical, aesthetic, and theoretical perspectives, involving critical and comparative studies;
• Calligraphic changes (elements of innovation, adaptation and reinterpretation) along Chinese history and their cultural impact.

Please submit one single document (in English) containing:

1. an abstract of up to 300 words;
2. a 100-word biography, contact information and any institutional affiliation

Please complete this by 2 February 2026 and send to Dr. Daniele Caccin (daniele.caccin2@unibo.it), Professor Adriana Iezzi (adriana.iezzi2@unibo.it), Prof. Joshua Jiang (Joshua.Jiang@bcu.ac.uk), and ccva@bcu.ac.uk with the subject line ‘19th Annual Conference of CCVA Asia'.

Participants from all career stages are most welcome. Following the conference, selected papers will be invited for publication in the Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art indexed by Scopus. Please kindly note this is an in-person only event. For further information about the conference, please visit the conference website.