Call for Papers

5th International Artefacta Conference: Sustainability and Heritage

14–16 April 2027
@ Estonian National Museum, Tartu, Estonia
@ University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy, Viljandi, Estonia

The Fifth International Artefacta Conference will be held in Estonia on 14–16 April 2027, organised by the Estonian National Museum and the University of Tartu.

At the core of the Artefacta Conferences are things and artefacts, as well as the materiality and material culture associated with them.

The theme of the Fifth International Artefacta Conference is “Sustainability and Heritage”, which connects objects and material culture to discussions of sustainability and cultural heritage. Sustainability is increasingly significant and relevant to the study of artefacts, material culture, and heritage. Beyond cultural, social, and economic sustainability, concerns about ecological viability and the climate crisis are prompting scholars to view artefacts, material culture, and the materiality of cultural heritage in new light and contexts, and to ask new questions. The meaning of cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, is shifting from an object of preservation to a cultural resource for sustainability and resilience.

The 2027 conference focuses on the importance and advances in the study of objects and material culture through the combined lens of sustainability and cultural heritage. It also examines the inherent and potential innovative links between cultural heritage and sustainability. The conference invites participants to theorise “sustainable artefacts”, “material cultures of sustainability”, and “sustainable cultural heritage”, and to ask what they might be and how best to study them.

Abstract proposals and submission

The conference welcomes abstract proposals on the theme “Sustainability and Heritage” from around the world and from interdisciplinary perspectives, including material culture studies, history, archaeology, ethnology, anthropology, folkloristics, craft science, conservation, museology, art history, design, architecture, heritage science, cultural policy, and related fields. The conference is open to all kinds of academic research, including practice-led and artistic research.

The conference invites oral and poster presentations, as well as practical workshops, on topics such as:

1. Material living heritage
2. Revisiting past practices of sustainability
3. Heritage-based future solutions for sustainability
4. Museums and memory institutions as the guardians of artefacts
5. Teaching artefacts
6. Craftsmen, designers, and craftivists in search of sustainable futures
7. Sustainable design and architecture
8. Sustainable production and consumption
9. Repair, reuse, repurposing, and low-tech recycling

The deadline for submissions is 15 November 2026.

Submissions are welcome via the conference webpage.

Submission Form

The length of the proposals is a maximum of 1000 characters. Multiple presenters or workshop conveners are permitted. 

The conference is fully on-site. The first two days, 14 and 15 April 2027, are hosted by the Estonian National Museum in Tartu, and the third day, 16 April, by the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy, with tours and workshops.

The conference is organised in collaboration with the Estonian National Museum, the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy, and the UNESCO Chair on Applied Studies of Intangible Cultural Heritage at the University of Tartu.

Conference e-mail: artefacta@artefacta2027.ee