Call for Proposals: DIWAN6: A Forum for the Arts

Overview
The sixth biennial convening of DIWAN: A Forum for the Arts will be held at the Arab American National Museum (AANM), on May 7-9, 2015, in Dearborn, Michigan. The conference will coincide with the launch of the Museum’s 10th anniversary programming year, as well as the Museum’s new visual arts exhibition, Ten. The Conference Committee welcomes proposals for paper and panel presentations, workshops, and interactive sessions. All artistic mediums will be considered for inclusion.
Conference Focus
DIWAN: A Forum for the Arts is a biennial program of the Arab American National Museum. DIWAN unites Arab American artists, scholars and performers representing myriad academic fields and artistic genres for a weekend dialogue that reinforces the AANM’s commitment to providing a place for community members and artists to meet, exchange ideas and exhibit their work. DIWAN also encourages audiences to explore the boundaries of art in addressing social issues related to Arab Americans and the community at large.

Proposal Categories
We encourage non-traditional presentation formats in addition to traditional paper proposals.

Individual presentations exploring Arab American arts production, curation, aesthetics and/or identity. Presentations should be designed to last no more than 10-15 minutes. We encourage presenters to think beyond traditional paper presentations. The Conference Committee reserves the right to group individual presentation proposals into 90-minute thematic sessions with other submissions.

Panel sessions provide an opportunity for three or more presenters to speak in a more open and conversational setting with conference attendees.  Submissions for these 90 minute sessions should include the name, resume, affiliation and email address of each panelist in addition to a description of the presentation and the title page.

Workshop presentations will be given a full 60-90 minute session.

Interactive sessions demonstrating performing arts such as poetry readings, musical presentations, etc.

Proposal Submissions
The deadline for proposal submission is December 15, 2014.

Please include the following information in your proposal submission:

1. Title of Proposal
2. Presentation Type: (Paper, panel, workshop or presentation)
3. Short Description: A short summary of the main idea of your proposal.  This will appear in the conference program. Absolute limit of 30 words.
4. Longer Description: A concise description of the purpose, methods and implications of your presentation. This will be used to evaluate and place your work in the appropriate session. Recommended length is approximately 200-250 words.
5. Theme Selection: Select the theme that best categorizes your work. Theme selections will be used to begin the process of organizing presentations into sessions.
6. Scheduling Note: Optional note to organizers regarding session scheduling requests or restrictions.
7. Biographical Information: Short biography, resume, and artist statement (if applicable).
8. Technical requirements: Please describe A/V and/or other technical requirements to support your proposal.
9. Portfolio: Please supply a portfolio of 10-15 works that best represents your proposal. (These materials will not be returned.)

Please send your proposals to:
Arab American National Museum
Attn: DIWAN
13624 Michigan Avenue
Dearborn, MI 48126

Alternately, proposals may be submitted electronically to DIWAN@accesscommunity.org.

Questions may be directed to Isra El-beshir at 313.624.0215 or IElbeshir@accesscommunity.org.
Please visit https://diwanart.org for the latest news and information.

Acceptance notifications will be made by mid-January, 2015.

HONORARIA FOR PRESENTERS
Presenters will receive an honorarium to partially subsidize travel and hotel costs to participate in DIWAN. Amount of honorarium will correlate to distance and cost of travel for each participant. Honorarium will be provided after the submission of full paper to the AANM prior to the conference.

DIWAN is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ford Foundation.