Researching Art Markets past to present: Tools for the future

11th International Workshop

Circulations: Works, Artists, and Ideas in the Art Market

Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech
22-23 May 2026

Call for proposals

Cadi Ayyad University will host the international workshop “Circulations: Works, Artists, and Ideas in the Art Market” on 22-23 May 2026, the eleventh in the International Workshops Series Researching Art Markets past & present: Tools for the future (RAM-T). The Series is part of RAM-T, the international interdisciplinary initiative and community which was jointly founded by Elisabetta Lazzaro (University for the Creative Arts, UK), Nathalie Moureau (University Paul Valéry, Montpellier), and Adriana Turpin (IESA Art & Culture, Paris, and the Society for the History of Collecting, London) in 2017. Through individual presentations followed by group discussions, the RAM-T workshop series aims to bring together international scholars and practitioners from different disciplines, periods of study and professional approaches to confront key issues and develop methodologies to analyse and interpret the structures, practices and principles of the art market, both historical and contemporary. Previous RAM-T workshops have taken place in Montpellier, Utrecht, London, Rome, Ljubljana, Paris, Rotterdam, Baton Rouge, Glasgow, and Rimini and have covered topics spanning art collectors, artists as entrepreneurs, formation and development of new markets, communication strategies, legislation and finance, gatekeepers, markets for applied arts, artistic crafts and design, art events, and sustainable local development.

Circulations: Works, Artists, and Ideas in the Art Market

Circulation has become a key concept in understanding the dynamics of the art market in a globalised world. It is also a longstanding object of enquiry in art history and related disciplines. Whether considering the physical movement of artworks, the social and geographic trajectories of artists, or the diffusion of ideas, norms, and practices, circulation plays a foundational role in shaping the economic, aesthetic, legal, and cultural dimensions of the art market.

We welcome research articles that employ rigorous theoretical or empirical (quantitative and/or qualitative) approaches, as well as practitioners’ perspectives notes, on the forms, conditions, and effects of circulation in the art market from a multidisciplinary perspective from across arts, humanities and social sciences. We invite contributions from scholars and practitioners in art history, tourism, cultural and heritage studies, economics, management, sociology, law, anthropology, communication, and other relevant fields.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Artistic Mobility and the Reconfiguration of the Market. Contributions will focus on movements, and underlying motives of artists and other market players –voluntary (e.g., education, exhibitions, residencies), constrained (e.g., exile, war), or strategic (accessing new markets)– and their consequences on artistic careers and market hierarchies. How do artists, galleries, and other businesses circulate across more-or-less-open ecosystems? How do institutions facilitate or hinder such mobilities?
  • Transfers of Models, Ideas, and Norms. This topic focuses on the immaterial forms of circulation: aesthetic theories, critical discourses, professional practices, and legal or economic models applied to the art market. What happens when global models of regulation or sales are transposed into local contexts? How do ideas, values, and norms around art circulate and change?
  • The Circulation of Artworks and Logics of Valorisation. This topic focuses on the physical mobility of artworks. It invites reflections on the practical and institutional mechanisms that govern circulation and its impact on artistic, financial, and symbolic values. How does movement contribute to the legitimation or speculation of artworks and what are the key factors, and actors, enabling or restricting circulation?
  • Legal, Fiscal, and Political Frameworks of Circulation. Circulation is never detached from its regulatory frameworks. This topic points to the legal, fiscal, and political instruments that govern the movement of artworks and artists: resale rights, import/export regulations, tax policies, restitution laws, etc. How do states, institutions, and international bodies seek to control or promote circulation? What tensions arise between market logic, heritage preservation, and identity, or decolonial claims?

Proposals submission and deadlines

Please submit an abstract of 400 words of your proposed paper and a short biography of 50 words to Larbi Safaa (l.safaa@uca.ac.ma) ccd. to saoualihabdellah@gmail.com and Adriana Turpin (adrianaturpin@gmail.com) before 31 December 2025. Notice of acceptance will be given by 21 January 2026. 

Please note that this will be a fully in-person workshop. Candidates should ensure that they can attend the workshop in person if they are accepted to present at the workshop.

Attendance fee: 40 euros

Scientific Committee:

  • Larbi Safaa, Cadi Ayyad University, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Laboratory for Studies on Resources, Mobility, and Attractiveness (LERMA), Centre of Excellence Tourism and Hospitality Management School, Marrakech, Morocco.
  • Elisabetta Lazzaro, Epsom School of Creative Business, Fashion and Enterprise, University for the Creative Arts, UK.
  • Nathalie Moureau, RiRRa21, University Paul Valéry Montpellier, France.
  • Adriana Turpin, IESA, Paris, France.

Sponsors