Call for Papers CONCEPT 1(34)/2027 The Aesthetics of Scarcity: Precarity, Ecoscenography, and Post-Human Futures
The editorial board of CONCEPT academic journal invites submissions for the dossier The Aesthetics of Scarcity: Precarity, Ecoscenography, and Post-Human Futures. This issue explores inventive design in independent theatre amid financial constraints, ecological crises, precarious labor, and automation.
Expanding on Jerzy Grotowski’s "poor theatre," we examine how scarcity becomes a creative tool. Today’s creators must navigate complex deprivations, including environmental degradation and the rise of AI, which are fundamentally altering the visual vocabulary of the stage.
Performance spaces are increasingly generated and tied to digital infrastructures. This issue investigates "guerrilla scenography" in a post-human context, focusing on the friction between material limits, labor exploitation, and technological potential.
Key inquiries include: How can sustainable design be achieved under precarious conditions? Can AI support eco-critical practice despite its own carbon footprint? We seek to understand how designers build visual worlds when working conditions are structurally unsustainable.
We welcome theoretical papers, research articles including case studies, interviews, practice-as-research reflections, and visual essays exploring these intersections across all visual and performance design disciplines—including set, costume, props, light, sound, and media design—on topics that include, but are not limited to:
Thematic Areas
● Guerrilla scenography and salvage economies
● Site-specific and found-space design
● Modular and flat-pack staging for touring
● Radical material upcycling
● Costume hacking and minimalism
● Budget lighting innovation
● AI-assisted sustainable design
● Hidden environmental costs of digital and generative technologies
● The "passion tax" of precarious design labor
● Burnout, collective care, and slow design methodologies
● Questions of class, access, and inclusion in independent theatre
● Speculative, post-human eco-critical stagings
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS
Abstract
150-200 words in English
Keywords
5-8 words (phrases) in English
Article
3500 – 8000 words
Accepted languages
ENGLISH, SPANISH, FRENCH
Citation and reference style
HARVARD (https://www.mendeley.com/guides/harvard-citation-guide)
Article structure
Introduction (objectives, hypothesis); Research Methods; Results; Conclusions; Bibliography
(References, Online References, Filmography, Performance References).
Illustrations
Around 3-5: photographs, drawings, diagrams, charts – with explanations included in the Word documents and separately as a .jpg file.
Autor(s) biography
maximum 200 words
iulia.gherghescu@unatc.ro
CONCEPT academic journal also publishes reviews of theatre and cinema books (1500-2000 words) and interviews with personalities from the related fields of Theater and Performing arts, Cinema and Media, some of them established, others on the rise.
We attach the latest issue of our magazine, eloquent for the categories of articles detailed above.
We accept articles that have not been published in other scientific journals.
CONCEPT is a biannual open access academic publication, edited by the I.L. Caragiale National University of Theater and Cinematography, which has been published since 2010. CONCEPT uses a double-blind peer-review system, is classified C by the Romanian National Council for Scientific Research, and is indexed in several international databases: ERIH PLUS, CEEOL, SCIPIO, EBSCO.
Guest Editor:
Iulia Gherghescu is a visual artist, scenographer, and researcher who explores the interdisciplinary intersections of performance design. Her professional work encompasses managing complex creative processes across theater, filmmaking, and event design. Her extensive portfolio brings together set and costume designs for prestigious institutions—such as the National Theaters of Bucharest, Galați, Sibiu, Iași, and Târgu-Mureș—alongside collaborations in the independent sector and projects dedicated to young audiences. In the cinematic field, she has distinguished herself as a production and costume designer for feature films such as Love Building and Cazul Samca. Her expertise in spatial transformation is also evident in the large-scale installations she has created for major festivals like Summer Well, Untold, and Electric Castle. Additionally, she is an active member of OISTAT Romania.
