Distance(s) and the In-Between: 2023 Graduate Student Symposium, The Kress Foundation Department of Art History

Distance—the space or time between one physical or conceptual location and another—evokes both stasis and the possibility of movement and change. Whether tangible or intangible, distance can shape cultures, things, people, and ideas through movement and interaction. Distance may be defined by boundaries or borders, and distance factors in the making of histories, ideologies, and identities, as well as our surrounding environments and relationships.

Distance—whether chronological, geographical, theoretical, conceptual, and/or in terms of sexuality—is also a factor in our interpretation of artworks within various frameworks, such as colonialism, post-colonialism, decolonization, feminism, and queer theory that involve diverse cultures and perspectives.

Through the theme of distance, the 2023 Graduate Student Symposium "Distance(s) and the In-Between" aims to illuminate how artists have engaged with the powerful potential that exists in the spaces between and among things, ideas, time, people, and locations.