Everyday Aesthetics and Collective Gestures

The Everyday Aesthetics and Collective Gestures conference, held from January 25th to 27th, 2024, at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, was a significant event organized in partnership with EVAnetwork.

Elisabetta Di Stefano, the network’s coordinator, opened the conference, while Yuriko Saito (Rhode Island School of Design), a leading figure in Everyday Aesthetics, delivered an inspiring keynote.

Additional keynote speakers included Sandra Laugier (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) and Nicola Perullo (Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche di Pollenzo). A special dialogue featured Jacques Rancière (Université Paris 8).

Among EVAnetwork partners, Ossi Naukkarinen and Gioia Laura Iannilli contributed to roundtable discussions on Co-operative Aesthetics: A Quasi-Manifesto for the 21st Century, and Lisa Giombini presented papers on heritage and the power of collective gestures.

The conference explored the impact of both material and symbolic gestures on collective experiences, reconceptualizing aesthetics as a dynamic, evolving field. Participatory performances involving shared gestures highlighted the transformative power of collective action and emphasized the importance of embodiment in aesthetic experience. These interactions reaffirmed that aesthetics is not merely an individual reflection but a shared, lived reality.