https://www.kismifconference.com
The KISMIF Conference (2014-) is an international academic/cultural/artistic event based in Porto (Portugal) focused on the discussion and sharing of information around underground cultures , DIY practices, urban arts and related themes. KISMIF focuses on cultural practices that are used to counter more massive and uniformized forms of cultural production/creation/mediation, activating an anti-hegemonic ethos centered around an aesthetics and politics of the “ arts of making ” of everyday life.
KISMIF is , to date, the only conference that examines the theory and practice of underground scenes and DIY cultures as increasingly significant cultural forms in the global context of precarity and uncertainty.
The KISMIF Conference has a multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach , and is open to contributions from the global community of researchers, artists and activists working in all aspects of the underground and DIY cultures, and is based on a pluralistic methodological approach . The aim is to discuss not only music, but other artistic fields such as film and video, graffiti and street art, theatre and performing arts, literature and poetry, radio, artistic programming and publishing, graphic design, drawing, architecture, or even cartoons and comics.
The first edition of the KISMIF Conference was held in 2014 and focused on “ Underground Music Scenes and DIY Cultures ”. The second edition (2015) was dedicated to the theme “ Crossing Borders of Underground Music Scenes ”. The third edition (2016) promoted a discussion around “ DIY Cultures, Spaces and Places ”. The fourth edition took place in 2018 and focused on the theme “ Gender, differences, identities and DIY cultures ”. The fifth edition took place in 2021 and focused on the theme of “DIY Cultures and Global Challenges”. The sixth edition (2022) focused on the theme of “DIY Cultures, Sustainability and Artistic Ecosystems”. The seventh edition, which will take place in 2024, will focus on the theme of “DIY Cultures, Democracy and Creative Participation”. Every edition of the KISMIF Conference offers an advanced Summer School/Seminar, in which participants can discuss/analyze in greater depth specific issues around these themes.
Each edition of the KISMIF Conference, in addition to its scientific programme, consists of a diverse social and cultural programme , consisting of a set of artistic events, with a particular focus on underground music and its artistic expressions . The aim is to provide all participants with a unique sensory and scientific experience at the level of global DIY cultures.
