Rúbia Salgado and Gergana Mineva at the Symposium Conceptual Activism. Engaging Queerly in Conflictual Times
Discussion: Conceptual Activism: decolonial – trans_ecological – queer
30 Mar 2026
Aylon Cohen, Gergana Mineva, Yv Nay, Asmae Ourkiya, Rubia Salgado, Alexandra Papademetriou, Ferdiansiyah Thajib, Sifen Wibell, and the Audience
Conceptual activism is a way of imagining otherwise, involving the materialization as and the embodiment of concepts. Transforming marginalized concepts into practice can prefigure alternative futures. In this discussion the invited guests will present concepts – like confluence, queer gestures, Trans*Ecology, or conflictual aesthetics – that inform their professional, activist, or artistic practices. These are intended to inspire reflection and exchange on conceptual activism. There will be a particular focus on queering and transing, and how these approaches support decolonial, ecological, and feminist perspectives, while being open to conflict.
Open Fish Bowl: The discussion is participatory. Audience members are invited to join the speaker’s circle. There will be continuous movement between the inner, in-between, and outer circles of chairs, as well as between languages (German, English).
Symposium Conceptual Activism. Engaging Queerly in Conflictual Times
This symposium explores the possibilities and limitations of conceptual activism. What does it mean to engage in politics through concepts? Does ‘conceptual’ imply that this kind of activism has less practical relevance or lacks material power? To what extent do concepts imply embodied practices and material relations? Which concepts are interesting from queer and trans theoretical and political perspectives?
The focus is on how the dynamics of queering and transing, or intersectional, decolonial practices, challenge the separation of academia, art, and activism. Inspired by Davina Cooper’s work, conceptual activism is seen as a way of imagining otherwise, involving the materialization and embodiment of concepts. Bringing marginalized concepts into practice can help to create alternative futures.
In today’s conflictual times, when the risks and dangers posed by climate change, biodiversity loss, and extractivist racial capitalism are often overlooked, with authoritarian politics and regimes acting as the driving force behind these issues, the symposium interrogates conceptual activism as a counter-hegemonic ontology and epistemology. The objective is to fight the normalization of material, symbolic and epistemic violence as modus operandi in everyday life and doing politics. The question is: Can queering and transing as a dynamic interweaving of power and desire advance trans*versal justice and sustain critical movements against domination?
Programme of the Symposium Conceptual Activism. Engaging Queerly in Conflictual Times
