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Calls for participation

Both of our venues support new research through academic conferences and early career events.

We also work in collaboration with external organisations to further critical thinking around sculpture and its many associated subject areas.

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Calls for participation

We regularly invite submissions for conferences and symposiums on a range of sculpture topics.

Our events take place at the Institute in Leeds, Studios & Gardens in Hertfordshire, and with external partner venues.

Stokes’ Objects
Marble relief sculpture of the Madonna and Child, with angels to either side.

Stokes’ Objects

Call for participation

Conference, to take place:
University of York
Friday 20 & Saturday 21 November 2026

Deadline for proposals:
Monday 5 October 2026, 17:00

Upcoming conferences

Previous calls for papers

You can see examples of the types of conferences and open calls we hold below.

Sculptural Values: Carving, Modelling, Making
Vintage black and white photo of impressive buildings in Italy, with columns, sculptural decorations and walls painted with religious scenes.

Sculptural Values: Carving, Modelling, Making

Call for participation

Early Career Research Symposium, to take place:
Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
Wednesday 30 September 2026

Deadline to apply:
Monday 3 August 2026, 17:00

Recasting Global Modernities and the Making of Shared Worlds: New Perspectives through Henry Moore
Black and white photo of sculptor Henry Moore peering into the central void of one of his large plaster sculptures.

Recasting Global Modernities and the Making of Shared Worlds: New Perspectives through Henry Moore

Call for participation

Conference, to take place:
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Tuesday 22 September 2026
University of Cambridge
Wednesday 23 September 2026

Deadline to apply:
Wednesday 22 July 2026, 17:00

Photographic Objecthood: Construction, Presence, and the Sculptural Encounter
Two large-format black and white photos are hung on a white gallery wall, with a blurred figure walking between them. The photos show car interiors, seen from the back passenger seat.

Photographic Objecthood: Construction, Presence, and the Sculptural Encounter

Call for participation

Workshop, to take place:
Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
Wednesday 21 January 2026

Deadline to apply:
Monday 13 October 2025, 17:00

Power for the People: Art, Protest, and the Archives of Activism
A street scene with a bridge above the road filled with coloured posters with slogans on them - 'PRIMAL ENERGY', 'MATTER', 'YOUTH', 'CHEMICAL RESEARCH' among others and a person standing on the street below with a poster on a stick coming from a backpack with 'MATERNITY' written on it and an arrow pointing to the right

Power for the People: Art, Protest, and the Archives of Activism

Call for participation

Workshop, to take place:
Victoria Hall, Shipley
Wednesday 12 November 2025

Deadline to apply:
Monday 15 September 2025, 17:00

Placemaking: The Past, Present, and Future of Public Sculpture and Urban Regeneration
A sculpture made from steel pipes arranged horizontally in all different directions, so that wind passes through them. The sculpture is narrow at the base and fans out much more widely at the top, not unlike a tree.

Placemaking: The Past, Present, and Future of Public Sculpture and Urban Regeneration

Call for participation

Symposium, to take place:
University of Bradford
Friday 17 October 2025

Deadline to apply:
Monday 8 September 2025, 17:00

Anti-Monumentality and the Afterlives of ‘Land Art’ in Britain
A small black box containing two sticks of colouring pastel, one red and the other green. The artwork is signed by artist Anya Gallaccio and numbered 2/10.

Anti-Monumentality and the Afterlives of ‘Land Art’ in Britain

Call for participation

Workshop, to take place:
Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
Wednesday 22 October 2025

Deadline to apply:
Monday 28 July 2025, 17:00

Embodied Ideals: The Representation of Women in European Public Sculpture (1836-1937)
Group sculpture in white plaster or stone of five life-sized, partially nude women. Three are seated on a bench, and below two are standing, one holding a wreath above her head, the other reading from a scroll.

Embodied Ideals: The Representation of Women in European Public Sculpture (1836-1937)

Call for participation

Workshop, to take place:
Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
Wednesday 8 October 2025

Deadline to apply:
Monday 2 June 2025, 17:00

Forces of Nature: New Perspectives on Art and Changing Environments
Two planks of wood, joined together in a cross, with the silhouette of a hawk-like bird drawn on top in black marker pen.

Forces of Nature: New Perspectives on Art and Changing Environments

Call for participation

Conference, to take place:
Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
Wednesday 21 May 2025

Deadline to apply:
Friday 14 March 2025, 17:00

Blindness and Expanded Sculpture
A ring of metal, roughly 30cm in diameter, hanging on a loop of string. A hand is steadying the ring, while a second hand is poised to strike it with a small, square hammer.

Blindness and Expanded Sculpture

Call for participation

International Conference, to take place:
Leeds Art Gallery
Wednesday 19 March 2025

Deadline to apply:
Friday 6 December 2024, 17:00

Surrealism in Yorkshire

Surrealism in Yorkshire

Call for participation

International Conference, to take place:
The Hepworth Wakefield
Friday 28 February 2025

Deadline to apply:
Friday 29 November 2024, 17:00

Sensory Innovations and Creativity in the Arts
A woman is raising her hand to touch metal sculptures hanging from the ceiling. There are seven of them, each a vertical slice cut from a bell.

Sensory Innovations and Creativity in the Arts

Call for participation

Early Career Research Symposium, to take place:
Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
Wednesday 27 November 2024

Deadline to apply:
Friday 27 September 2024, 17:00

Monuments in Conversation: Westminster Abbey in the Eighteenth Century
Interior of a church showing numerous stone-carved figurative monuments, plaques, and relief sculpture.

Monuments in Conversation: Westminster Abbey in the Eighteenth Century

Call for participation

Conference, to take place:
Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
Wednesday 17 July 2024

Deadline to apply:
Monday 15 April 2024, 17:00

Brâncuşi, Britain and the Idea of Modern Sculpture
Black and white photo of five older men wearing suits. Henry Moore, Frank McEwan, Herbert Read and Paul Eluard stand to the right, with Constantin Brâncuşi to the left. He has a large beard and holds a hat in his hands.

Brâncuşi, Britain and the Idea of Modern Sculpture

Call for participation

Conference, to take place:
Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, Hertfordshire
Thursday 27 June 2024

Deadline to apply:
Friday 1 March 2024, 17:00

 

Modern Sculpture, Essence, and Difference: Reflections on the Work of Constantin Brâncuşi
Abstract image composed of layered, stone-textured shapes on a green background.

Modern Sculpture, Essence, and Difference: Reflections on the Work of Constantin Brâncuşi

Call for participation

Early career research symposium, to take place:
The Courtauld Institute of Art, London
Friday 26 April 2024

Deadline to apply:
Monday 15 January 2024, 17:00