The conference will theorize the relationship between performance, 
“official” public culture (public culture framed and sanctioned by 
state and/or corporate institutions), and the production of what 
Michael Warner calls “counter-publics” (social formations developed in 
opposition to the discourses and interests of the official public 
sphere). As such, it will explore the coming together of individuals 
as a social totality—as a community, nation, organization, etc—
and the enactment of public as a form of social activism, as a means 
of rehearsing, querying, and producing alternative forms of local and 
global citizenship. In both contexts, performance has the potential to 
frame affective and critically nuanced responses to public events, 
issues and crises and thus to model politically and ethically engaged 
forms of public life. The conference also seeks to problematize the 
idea of “publics” as it has been applied to performance by exploring 
the limitations of this term and the kinds of social exclusions that 
it often has been used to rationalize.

Guiding questions will include: How are we hailed by various publics, 
and how does this shape our behaviors and social interactions? How are 
publics spatially and temporally constituted? In what ways do publics 
participate in forms of activism, civic engagement, and “poetic world-
making” (Warner)? What affects and effects are produced by such 
utopian interventions? Our discussion of these issues will reflect the 
vibrant history of urban intervention and “public spacing” movements 
in Toronto in which artists and activists have worked together to 
change the shape of our shared local and civic spaces.

Proposals might address (but are not limited to):

• publics and counter-publics
• issues of public space
• performance and civic engagement
• performance as an act of public witness
  
• performance and public relations
  
• the audience (live or virtual) as public
  
• public events: rallies, protests, flash mobs, etc.
  
• the relationship between the public and the private
• the role of gender, sexuality, race, and class in performing 
  publics
• public feelings and affects
  
• performative utopias and utopian performatives
• site-specific performance and urban intervention

The conference will be staged during Toronto’s annual Luminato 
Festival, and will provide several opportunities for participants to 
experience and reflect on its dynamic arts programming. Luminato is a 
multidisciplinary festival that celebrates music, dance, theatre, 
film, literature, and the visual arts, and showcases the work of 
local, national, and international artists.  As part of its mandate to 
offer “accidental encounters with art,” Luminato is committed to 
presenting a variety of free events in public spaces. These public art 
projects run concurrently with exciting performance premieres at 
venues throughout the city http://www.luminato.com/.

Paper proposals (Due November 15):
Proposals for individual papers should include a 250-word abstract. 
Conference papers are normally allotted 20 minutes. Traditional and 
performative papers are welcome.

Panel proposals (Due November 15):
Panel proposals and proposals for other discursive formats (roundtable 
discussions, position papers, etc.) should include a 250-word 
abstract, along with the names, paper titles (if applicable) and 
affiliations of participants. Panels are normally allotted 1.5-2 
hours. Proposals that interweave traditional and performative papers 
are welcome.

Shift proposals (Due November 1):
Continuing the explorations of PSi 15, we invite proposals for 
“shifts”: innovative session formats that push the boundaries of the 
well-constructed panel. These may include workshops, performances, and 
interactive events. We welcome shifts that engage with “Performing 
Publics”—e.g., site-specific projects that activate public space, the 
urban landscape, or the immediate environs of the conference site. 
Proposals should include a 250-word abstract. Please note that shifts 
and panels will receive the same basic level of AV support, and there 
will be a limited number of places for shifts at PSi 16.

All proposals should be submitted online by filling out the PSi 16 
“Proposal Form” at: http://psi16.com/cfp/submissions/ 

Questions about the conference can be directed to: info@psi16.com