Although the 2009 International Conference on the Arts in Society hasn't started yet, it will be held in Venice, Italy, July 28 - 31, 2009, the organiser of the Conference for 2010 has already announced the call for papers for the next year.

The 2010 Conference will be held at the University of Sydney, Australia, July 22 - 25, 2010.

The theme of this year’s Conference is Art and Transnationalism. Its scope is deliberately broad and ambitious. Our times demand nothing less than cross-disciplinary and holistic approaches.

The purpose of the annual Arts Conference is to create an intellectual platform for the arts and arts practices, and to create an interdisciplinary conversation on the role of the arts in society. It is intended as a place for critical engagement, examination and experimentation of ideas that connect the arts to their contexts in the world - on stage, in studios and theatres, in classrooms, in museums and galleries, on the streets and in communities.

The 2010 Arts Conference will address a range of critically important issues and themes relating to the arts in society. Plenary speakers will include leading thinkers and practitioners in the arts, as well as paper, workshop and colloquium presentations by researchers and practitioners in all fields of artistic engagement.

They invite prospective participants to submit a presentation proposal. More details you can find here.

The deadline for the submission is August 13, 2009.

The Arts Conference is held annually in different international locations in conjunction with global and local arts events. The inaugural Conference was held in conjunction with the Edinburgh Festivals, Edinburgh, Scotland in 2006, and in 2007, in collaboration with the Documenta12, Kassel, Germany. The 2007 International Symposium on the Arts was held during the Armory Show in New York and in co-sponsorship with the Center for Art and Public Policy, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. In 2008, the Conference was held at the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK, with a special theme of Art and Communication and in 2009 the Conference, as I stressed, will be will be held in Venice, Italy.