For more than three decades now, questioning social functions of art has been one of the most current topics within the realm of social sciences. “The social turn” in the artistic practice has largely contributed to this, i.e. a pronounced tendency of artists to put their talents and skills into the service of civic activism, participative democracy, social justice, and promoting marginal identities. At the same time, an increasing number of social scientists show readiness to pursue their respective careers within the academic sphere and/or in the applied arts on the grounds of classic or novel artistic forms, that is, within ‘the performative turn’. Yet, the aforementioned processes of rapprochement and overlapping of the discursive fields of art and social sciences, have not only (re)actualized the existing issues, but they have also raised new ones with regard to their compatibility, that is, the preservation of their autonomy and identity in terms of their respective fields. Can one reduce art to its social function? Can socially engaged art jeopardize the traditional conventions of the world of art, its aesthetic dimension in particular? In what way does (socially engaged) art resist/get (ab)used by institutionalised structures of power within the political and economic context? In what way does the digital media affect social functions of art? Are socially engaged art and performative social sciences complementary or competitive projects, and in what way is it possible to measure their efficiency in relation to empowering a community and encouraging social changes? Is the scope of performative social sciences limited solely to applied research, and what is their status in relation to the mainstream social sciences?

The papers submitted may address, but are in no way limited to, the following issues: art as a means of social control/emancipation throughout history; art as zeitgeist; political art; causes and consequences of ‘the social turn’ in art; epistemological foundations of ‘the performative turn’ in social sciences; art and epistemological anarchism; planning, implementation, and evaluating of performative research; art and urban space; new media and art; art and religion; art and intercultural dialogue; art and political correctness; socially engaged art; participative art; community art; art and social pedagogy; creative industries; art and corporate culture; art and political marketing; (post)feminist art; ecological art; art and posthumanism;

Apart from the proposals addressed by the main Conference theme, the Scientific Committee will accept other relevant topics aiming at promoting interdisciplinary research and exchange of views among scholars. In this respect, other than scholars from sociology, political science, journalism and communication studies, and social work, we invite scholars from other research fields who are studying the mutual relation of art and sociability to take part in the Conference. The Scientific Committee will subsequently form panel sessions within which the selected papers will be presented. Accepted papers will be published in POLITEIA Scientific Journal of the Faculty of Political Sciences University of Banja Luka ISSN 2232-9641 (indexed in DOAJ, ERIH PLUS, CEEOL) or edited volume prior to the Conference.