Call for Participation:

AeroVisions. Aerial Aesthetics and the View from Above
September 1–3, 2026
Cuneo, Italy
https://aerialspatialrevolution.ch/aerospaces

Deadline for submission of expressions of interest and short CVs: June 20, 2026

The view from above is a mediated perspective in multiple ways. Technologies of the air have become increasingly complex and diverse: airplanes and drones, but also satellites and spacecraft make climate-monitoring devices and observational tools extend our gaze far beyond the limits of our atmosphere. These technologies are not only part of but also fundamentally condition the aesthetics of contemporary aerial visions.

The so-called Aerial Spatial Revolution has undeniably had pivotal political, economic, and social implications. Inextricably linked to these, however, is also a profound transformation of human perception and sensibility. The multi-layered mediations between sensing instruments “revoluting” the Earth generate not only a vast amount of data shaping the aerial view, but also recalibrate how we perceive the planet on and from the ground.

The view from above—an experience that for millennia had been merely imagined, used as a metaphor or as a symbolic device—has finally become possible, and technology now allows us to experiment with unprecedented sensory perspectives. Images of space—and from space—have radically transformed our perception of our place in the cosmos; meanwhile, everyday life in industrialized societies unfolds within environments made possible only through an interaction between the horizontal and the vertical dimensions. The conference AeroVisions. Aerial Aesthetics and the View from Above will address these themes by fostering an interdisciplinary dialogue at the intersection of philosophy, art history, media theory, and science and technology studies. The event will offer three intensive days of talks, discussions, and exchange among scholars from different generations, traditions, and disciplines.

PLEASE NOTE: The event is part of the Summer School “AeroSpaces: Spatial Practices in Architecture and Urbanism.” For further info: https://aerialspatialrevolution.ch/aerospaces

The conference would like to address some of the following questions:

• What does it mean to observe from above?
• What is the role of verticality in arts and sciences?
• Through which cognitive transformations and media-technical changes can we trace the genesis and development of the relationship between air and land?
• To what extent do many of modernity’s artefacts turn out to be ‘aerofacts’?
• What is the impact of the vision from above in architecture and visual arts?
• Are all aero-technologies technologies of power and surveillance, or can they be turned into civic counter-technologies?
• How are artists and activists devising tactic uses of airborne devices to offer other perspectives on the earth?
• To what extent is vision a perceptual faculty granted only to living, corporeal beings, or should ‘vision’ be extended to all forms of airborne optical registration, such as unmanned drones?
• Could it be the aerial view turns out to be at the intersection of seeing and reading, both visual and diagrammatic, experiential and cartographic?

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

Elie During (University of Paris Nanterre)
Noemi Quagliati (EUI Florence)
Joel Vacheron (University of Lausanne)
Jan Völker (University of Vienna)
Cristina Voto (University of Turin)
Nicola Zambon (University of Würzburg)

LANGUAGE

The working language is English. However, some evening events will be held in Italian.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

The deadline is June 20, 2026. Applicants will be notified of the outcome by the end of June 2026.

Participants will have the opportunity to contribute to the development of the ASR Lexicon (https://aerialspatialrevolution.ch/lexicon-asr) and other related publication projects.

To apply as ATTENDANT at the CONFERENCE AeroVisions, sSubmit the following to centrostudi.cespec@gmail.com by June 20, 2026:

• Expression of Interest (max. 1 page) outlining your research interest and how it relates to the conference’s themes
• Short CV

ACCOMMODATION AND TRAVEL

The summer school and conference are free of charge. Accepted participants and attendants will be provided with shared accommodation, one welcome dinner, coffee breaks, conference materials and all costs for trips during the summer school in the Piedmont area. Single room accommodation is available at an additional cost and subject to availability. Participants are expected to organize their own travel, a limited number of students and early career scholars can be supported with the coverage of travel expenses (up to 120€). If you’d like to be considered for support with accommodation, travel, or childcare, please note that in your application.

CONTACT

For further information, please contact the organising team at centrostudi.cespec@gmail.com.

Organised by the SNSF Project “Aerial Spatial Revolution” with the collaboration of CeSPeC – Research Center on Contemporary Thought (Cuneo) and in cooperation with Politecnico di Torino – Diparti-mento di Architettura e Design (DAD).