Call for Papers

The Education Department at the Boca Raton Museum of Art invites papers on Alphonse Mucha to coincide with the upcoming exhibition of Timeless Mucha: The Magic of Line, from November 19, 2025- March 1, 2026. Graduate students and upper-division undergraduate students are invited to present at a conference on Alphonse Mucha’s Line, Color, and Order: His Inspirations and His Lasting Impact at the Boca Raton Museum of Art on February 21, 2026. 

The Boca Raton Museum of Art, in collaboration with The Mucha Foundation, brings to South Florida Timeless Mucha: The Magic of Line, a groundbreaking exhibition that reappraises the work and influence of artist Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939). Organized by the Mucha Foundation, this major exhibition will open at the Boca Raton Museum of Art on November 19, 2025. The Education Department invites papers for a special conference to highlight this exhibition, the work of Alphonse Mucha, and his influence on many disciplines including theatre, literature, music, and the arts.

The conference panels will include lightning-round presentations (3-5 minutes) or longer paper presentations (10-15 minutes) by graduate and upper-division undergraduate students. This provides a professional development opportunity for students to place on their resumes and CVs.

Topics may include but are not limited to: elements of art in Mucha’s art; his organic forms and elaborate typography; his emphasis on aesthetics; his color lithographic process; his decorative panels; his “The Seasons” series; his theatre posters; his book covers; his literary sources for the Arthurian Tale posters and his Slavic Epic Cycle. Also, welcomed are topics of where Mucha received his inspiration, such as Japanese ukiyo-e woodprints. In addition, his style continued in Art Nouveau and in the 1970s with album cover art for the Grateful Dead, Yes, Gypsy, Diana Ross & the Supremes, and Howard Wales with Jerry Garcia, by artists like Stanley Mouse & Alton Kelley, Wes Wilson, Jim Fitzpatrick, and Hugh Brown. Topics on how Mucha’s style continues to influence artists in various genres is another strand of inquiry or research.

Submissions may include but are not limited to artwork in the special exhibition at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, courtesy of The Mucha Foundation. Students can present academic poster projects, demonstrating early research or a course essay. Students should use ArtSTOR/JSTOR for any other images that are not in the exhibition. 

Submit a 200-word abstract, 150-word biography (to be used for panel introductions), and images to Dr. Teresa Russo, [email protected] by Monday, November 3, 2025. Participants will be notified by December 5, 2025.