10th – 12th September 2026
Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław
University of Wrocław
Call for Papers
We are happy to announce that the sixth Progress in Colour Studies (PICS 2026) conference will be held in Wrocław, Poland, on 10–12 September 2026, following the AIC 2026 Meeting in Florence. The conference will be organized jointly by the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław and the University of Wrocław.
The aim of the PICS 2026 conference is to provide a forum for discussing studies on colour conducted by researchers representing different disciplines: linguistics, literary studies, philosophy, psychology, history, political science, art history, architecture studies, physics, chemistry and biology.
Following the previous PICS conferences, we welcome proposals for papers and posters presenting colour studies from any area of interest, including – among others – the following topics:
• colour in language
• colour in texts, including literature
• colour symbolism
• colour vision, perception, cognition and memory
• colour in fashion
• colour in architecture
• colour in painting, photography and sculpture
• the physics of colour
• dyes and pigments
This time we wish to pay particular attention to how colour is perceived and treated by artists and art theorists.
We hope to see you in Wrocław!
Previous PICS conferences and publications
The first Progress in Colour Studies (PICS) conference, organized by Dr Carole Biggam and Prof. Christian Kay, was held at the University of Glasgow in 2004. The conference was so successful that the organizers decided to hold further conferences concentrating on colour. Two of them – in 2008 and 2012 – were also hosted by the University of Glasgow. The 2016 PICS conference took place at University College London and in 2022 researchers interested in colour met at Tallinn University.
Selected papers presented at the PICS conferences are found in the following volumes published with John Benjamins:
• Progress in Colour Studies I: Language and Culture, edited by Carole P. Biggam and Christian J. Kay (2006) https://benjamins.com/catalog/z.pics1
• Progress in Colour Studies II: Psychological Aspects, edited by Nicola J. Pitchford and Carole P. Biggam (2006) https://benjamins.com/catalog/z.pics2
• New Directions in Colour Studies, edited by Carole P. Biggam, Carole Hough, Christian J. Kay and David R. Simmons (2011) https://benjamins.com/catalog/z.167
• Colour Studies: A Broad Spectrum, edited by Wendy Anderson, Carole P. Biggam, Carole Hough and Christian Kay (2014) https://benjamins.com/catalog/z.191
• Progress in Colour Studies: Cognition, Language and Beyond, edited by Lindsay W. MacDonald, Carole P. Biggam and Galina V. Paramei (2018) https://benjamins.com/catalog/z.217
• Colour Expression and Cognition, edited by Carole P. Biggam, Domicele Jonauskaite, Mari Uusküla and Dimitris Mylonas (in press)
Abstract submission: 28 February 2026
Notification of acceptance: 15 April 2026
Registration and payment: 30 April – 31 May 2026
Conference: 10–12 September 2026
Paper submission for publication: 28 February 2027
Length: 300–500 words (excluding references and figures)
Deadline: 28 February 2026
Submission link: https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/80363/submitter
To use the Oxford Abstracts platform, you need to create a profile. Please note that Oxford Abstracts will send notifications to the address you use to log in to the OA platform.
Authors may submit two abstracts if at least one submission is co-authored.
The abstracts will be double-blind peer-reviewed by the members of the scientific committee. Accepted abstracts will be published in the Book of Abstracts which will be available online before the conference.
Conference fee: 250 euro*
Payment: to be announced
Registration: to be announced
*) Uczestnicy z polskich uczelni: 700 PLN
To be announced.
To be announced.
Wroclaw is an academic city (more than a dozen universities with a total of about 100,000 students every year). It is also very well connected with the world: you can easily get here by plane, train and car. The city offers many hotels and other cultural attractions at quite moderate prices.
Here are some useful links:
https://airport.wroclaw.pl/en/
https://www.pkp.pl/pl/dworce/wroclaw-glowny-informacje-dla-podroznych
https://www.pkp.pl/en/
More about the city:
https://keytopoland.com/post/wroclaw-11-fun-facts-to-know-before-you-visit https://www.wroclaw.pl/en
https://www.staypoland.com/about_wroclaw.htm
The lectures and other activities will be held in the halls of the Academy of Fine Arts and/or of the University of Wrocław.
[map]
These venues are located in the centre of Wrocław and are easily accessible by public transport.
You are free to use any booking platform to book your hotel or apartment. The city offers hotel rooms of varying quality – from inexpensive hostels to top-quality accommodations.
More about the city:
https://keytopoland.com/post/wroclaw-11-fun-facts-to-know-before-you-visit https://www.wroclaw.pl/en
https://www.staypoland.com/about_wroclaw.htm
Leticia Álvaro (Complutense University of Madrid)
Carole P. Biggam (University of Glasgow)
Victoria Bogushevskaya (University of Bergamo)
Don Dedrick (University of Guelph)
Anna Franklin (University of Sussex)
Ewa Komorowska (University of Szczecin)
Marzenna Mioduszewska (independent scholar, formerly at Rey Juan Carlos University)
Dimitris Mylonas (Northeastern University London)
Galina Paramei (Liverpool Hope University)
Kazimierz Pawlak (The Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław)
Adam Pawłowski (University of Wrocław)
Jodi Sandford (independent scholar, formerly at University of Perugia)
Danuta Stanulewicz (University of Gdańsk)
Mari Uusküla (Tallinn University)
Magdalena Wosik (The Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław)
Paweł Bernacki (University of Wrocław)
Anna Cisło (University of Wrocław)
Rafał Werszler (University of Wrocław)
To be announced.
To be announced.
To be announced.
Adam Pawłowski (adam.pawlowski@uwr.edu.pl)
Danuta Stanulewicz (dan.stanulewicz@gmail.com)
Anna Cisło (anna.cislo@uwr.edu.pl )
