HUB Open Call #5: Duration? Dur(action)!

HUB Open Call #5

Issue #5 / Autumn 2025

Theme: Duration? Dur(action)!

 

Guest Editors: PÁR-A-GEM

 

Submission deadline: April 30, 2025.

 

The idea behind the notion of duration is an action that prevails in time. Action also has an open meaning, but it is always linked to time and space. It is from these presuppositions that we understand the notion of performance. 

A hybrid territory which, like so many other forms of artistic practice, has now found shelter in exhibition spaces, a kind of "domus" where it is safe.

For this reason, following the premise of Claire Bishop's latest book, "Disordered Attention", we have moved from an 'event time' to an 'exhibition time'. This change is not entirely new but has become more pronounced in our current era of temporal compression. The spectator questions this notion of time by moving freely within the space, allowing them to no longer view what is occurring in another space (such as the stage or screen). Instead, they share the same space with the action. We recognize that we should not make broad generalizations, and the performative possibilities in an exhibition context do not rule out others. What we present here as predominant is not exclusive — it is simply one of many possibilities.

You might consider exploring the music of Éliane Radigue or Pauline Oliveros, the films of Béla Tarr or Wang Bing, and the operas of Philip Glass. These examples are integrated within the concept of "event time," and remain significant.

With this call, we seek proposals - we encourage RC expositions - that openly position themselves in the tension between performative temporalities. The hybridity of action must be maintained through the various possibilities we propose for participation: first and foremost, artistic practices, particularly those associated with "time-based art." This encompasses all forms that engage with temporality in their work and address the critical issue of our time without time, transcending disciplinary boundaries.

HUB is an online multimedia publication. We recognize its limitations, so we encourage participation that involves rhizomatic extensions of the expositions' content, allowing it to manifest in the real world. This is a key issue for this call: How can we avoid being trapped by an online framework that prioritizes speed and immediacy — an approach that has extended its influence over all aspects of reality? We aim to critically engage with this framework while maintaining a vital connection to the real world.

We understand that this situation has resulted in widespread impatience. Additionally, we recognize that performative action is inherently tied to the concept of duration. This can be interpreted in several ways: first, as elongated time that manifests as antagonism. However, there are numerous other forms of performative action and their durations to explore — potentially as many as we wish.

Kant said that the sublime was the immeasurably great, and Fredric Jameson introduced a new notion: the techno-sublime, which has to do with the immeasurably small. We fail as humans in both cases and cannot resolve the issue. Nevertheless, we have managed to make approximations to this irreducibility. The temporalities we aim to explore in this issue will be situated within the interval between two incommensurabilities. In other words, all of them.

We want to be surprised. Surprise us. 

Without this expectation of meaning, it would not be worth it, and we know it is.

 

See the complete call at https://i2ads.up.pt/hub/calls.html

Submit your proposal via Research Catalogue (RC) by April 30, 2025.

For more information read the Submission Guidelines and our Peer Review Philosophy, or contact the editors via hub@fba.up.pt

 

HUB — Journal of Research in Art, Design and Society

HUB is a new peer-reviewed and open-access research journal for reporting on arts, design, and performing arts. The journal is published twice a year by i2ADS – Research Institute in Art, Design and Society (University of Porto, Portugal) and hosted on the Research Catalogue platform.

Open Call for VARIA
HUB also receives open-themed proposals aligned with its research areas on a continuous basis. Read more at: https://i2ads.up.pt/hub/calls.html

Review for HUB
In case you are interested in possibly reviewing for HUB, contact us via hub@fba.up.pt

Visit HUB at i2ads.up.pt/hub and follow our Instagram account at @hub.journal.ads