Call for submissions | Free Radicals symposium
Join us in the dialogue on the state of play around thinking-with plants in creative research.
Free Radicals is a two-year research project exploring the intersections between plant biodiversity and artistic practice, co-funded by Creative Europe.
Through a series of artist residencies and living labs with collaborators in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Hungary, and Armenia, we will gather research and write an open-source toolkit for individuals and institutions within the creative and cultural sectors designed to shape practices that support plant biodiversity.
The initiative will kick off with a symposium held in Prague between 23 - 25 May 2025, bringing together artists, scientists, researchers, and creative practitioners to dialogue on the state of play around thinking-with plants in creative research.
The symposium frames plants not as a passive background to human activity, but as active co-creators of our shared futures. Drawing on both theoretical and practice-based approaches, Free Radicals aims to highlight the overlooked role of plant life in shaping ecological, social, and cultural systems—and to rethink how creative and scientific practices can work together to foster greater respect for biodiversity.
We are now opening a Call for submissions, inviting students, early-career researchers, and independent scholars from across disciplines to present scientific or interdisciplinary research related to plant life. We welcome contributions from the fields of botany, ecology, anthropology, ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, phytotherapy, phytochemistry, material cultures, environmental humanities, philosophy, sociology, landscape studies, critical plant studies, Indigenous knowledge systems, design, and beyond.
Participants may choose between two formats of presentation:
Poster presentations
Short oral presentations (5–7 minutes, followed by brief Q&A)
Both formats offer an opportunity to share research and ideas in an informal and welcoming environment that supports cross-pollination between disciplines and approaches.
Posters may explore (but are not limited to) topics such as:
How do plants express agency, communication, defense, resilience, or cooperation—and how might we mirror or learn from these processes in the context of inclusive and multispecies societies?
How can science and culture contribute to public understanding of the importance of plant biodiversity, especially through material culture, education, and artistic engagement?
What might society look like if we aligned more closely with plant logics or ecological rhythms, and the temporalities of nonhuman life?
How can we approach plant life through the lenses of decolonial thinking, feminism, queer ecologies, food sovereignty, reproductive justice, or Indigenous knowledge systems?
What is the real impact of current green policies, and how should we define “sustainability” with respect to plants and other life forms—including questions of access, justice, and long-term ecological care?
We are interested in submissions that engage these questions through empirical research, theoretical inquiry, or interdisciplinary and practice-based methods. We welcome submissions from researchers, students, artists, and members of traditional, Indigenous, or otherwise underrepresented communities worldwide.
Submission details
Please email the following to thisis@freeradicals.space by 8 May 2025:
Abstract (max. 300 words) describing your research and poster content
Short bio (max. 150 words)
Optional: preliminary poster layout or visual materials (if available)
We will inform selected participants by 13 May 2025.
Posters will be presented during an informal session open to both symposium guests and the public. Authors are expected to print and bring their posters. If you cannot attend in person, we can help arrange local printing.
Short presentations will take place in moderated sessions designed to encourage dialogue and exchange between disciplines. They can take place both online and offline.
Selected participants will also be invited to share their research as part of the project’s final output—an open-source toolkit for individuals and institutions in the creative and cultural sectors, designed to shape practices that support plant biodiversity.
The Free Radicals symposium is organised by Haenke (CZ), in collaboration with five non-profit organisations rooted across Europe: Fundación Uxío Novoneyra (ES), Pro Progressione (HU), Quinta das Relvas (PT), Sonic Tomorrow (FR), and Today Art Initiative (BE). Although Free Radicals is not a scientific institution, we will issue official confirmation of poster presentation upon request, suitable for academic or institutional purposes.
For more information, please contact us at thisis@freeradicals.space or follow our Instagram for more updates.