Aesth/Ethics: hospitality in art and society

The term “ethics” can refer to morality or to an unconditional hospitality of the Other. This later view, proposed by Emmanuel Levinas, positions the ethical act as a response to the destitute call of the Other.

This year’s Ereignis conference aims to explore the relationship between ethics and aesthetics in both of these conceptions of the ethical. Key questions are:

  • What is the role of art in environmental ethics and in a confrontation with unethical aspects of hyper-capitalism?
  • Can art and should art propose ethical models of behaviour for the well-being of society?
  • What does ethics as hospitality mean, and can art function as a site for such hospitality?

The 5th interdisciplinary Ereignis conference will take place on August 9 (and 10, contingent on sufficient attendance), 2025 at Hotel Nadmorski in Gdynia, Poland, with a hybrid option for those unable to attend in person. Registration will be required.

Image: Miletus Torso, c. 480–470 BCE. Louvre Museum. © Daniel Lebée and Carine Déambrosis. Used by permission.

It is not possible to submit proposals for this event at this time.

Registration

Scholar
€180,00 Student
€120,00
Become a member to gain access to the special membership price. By purchasing you agree to our terms.

Assist us in organising a successful social programme in for this event by filling in our social events form!

Keynote speakers

  • Prof. Kurt Campbell, Director of Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town:
    “South African (Rock) Art after Apartheid and the ethical ingenuity of the Barrydale puppet parade, or the primary achievement of techne in Africa” Abstract
  • Prof. Em. Jørgen Veisland, University of Gdańsk:
    “Entropy as the primal physical and metapysical force: Introducing Dror Pimentel’s Aesth-Ethics: Of Hospitality in Art, reading Stephen Crane’s ‘The Blue Hotel’” Abstract
  • Prof. Dror Pimentel, author of Aesth-ethics: Of Hospitality in Art (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024):
    “Hospitality in the Age of Econo-rithm” Abstract
  • Dr. Gal Hertz, Head of the Visual and Material Culture Department, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design Jerusalem:
    “Ethics of Resistance: Peter Weiss’s Aesth-ethics” Abstract

Details

Sessions: Papers are timed to 20 minutes and followed by a Q&A with the audience. Each session is moderated.

Deadline for submission: Submit abstracts by June 15, 2025 (deadline extended) through our online submission engine. We will return to you with a notification on acceptance.

Registration is required.

Conference fee

  • General attendance: €180 (standard fee).
  • Reduced fee: €120 (students and the unwaged).

Scholastic committee

Organisers: This event is hosted by Ereignis Center for Philosophy and the Arts and Inscriptions — a journal for contemporary thinking on art, philosophy and psycho-analysis.

More information about travelling to Gdynia, Poland, visa requirements, accommodation, and some information for those travelling with families.

Read the full Call for Abstracts.