Call For Papers – Special Issue
April 7, 2026
Politics of Sikh Art/ Activism and Material: Cultural Production in the Diaspora
Guest Editors: Davina Bhandar (UVIC) and Rita Kaur Dhamoon (UVIC)
Sikhs have held an active political, social and cultural presence in BC arts and publics for well over a century. Whether in forms of photography, film, theatre/plays, poetry, dance, installation, music, visual and material culture, Sikh migrants from Punjab and global diasporic communities, have made their presence felt. Often historicized in the British Columbian context through contributions as labouring bodies, little emphasis has been placed on the larger cultural, social and public sphere of their contributions, leading to an often stereotypical / thin understanding of the meaning that the presence of Sikhs has had in their communities.
This call for papers is focusing on Sikh presence, rather than the broader formations of South Asian culture or Punjabi culture, as these identity formations do not lend themselves to the specificities of Sikhi and the cultural formations impacted through religious/spiritual traditions. While Sikhi itself is multi-layered, multi-perspectival its diversity of practice needs to be fully explored.
Very little critical attention has been paid to what the art making is conveying, for what purpose is this art being made; are these commentaries meant to stake a claim in exploring identity and representation, or are artists and cultural producers conveying messages of diverse political meanings, as larger comments on society, community, and Sikh practices that are being articulated? Controversies have certainly arisen about casteism, Sikh sovereignty, community reflections on the Sikh genocide of 1984, gender violence, cultural production and the naming of heritage sites and museums in B.C. This special issue provides a space for dialogue on these and other topics. What makes Sikh art/art by Sikhs in BC political? What are the politics driving art by Sikhs in BC?
This call for papers for inclusion in a special issue of BC Studies is meant to provide a venue for this critical reflection. We are seeking scholarly papers, research notes, case comments, photo essays, sound works, and digital mediathat examine the politics of Sikh art in B.C. including its history, and meditations on materiality, cultural influences, and positions within the larger public discourse of what is being conveyed through contemporary art practices that Sikh artists/creators and cultural producers are engaging. This special issue is seeking contributions that particularly reflect the presence of Sikhs, Sikh art, and Sikhi in British Columbia in relation with larger ecologies, matters relevant to various BC-based Sikh communities, Indigenous nations, and other communities.
BC Studies publishes articles with a strong BC focus, so please keep this in mind as you plan your research. Consult with the guest editors and the journal for advice.
Some possible topics:
- The politics of storytelling through art
- Critique of Caste in Sikhi arts
- Sikh representations of masculinities and femininity
- Queerness and gender in Sikh art/art by Sikhs
- 1984 genocide
- The role of secularism in Sikhi art and culture
- The naming of museums, centres, institutions in BC
- Questions of authenticity – does art have to be grounded in Gurmat?
- Place, diaspora, migration and art
- Sikh art and relationality with Indigeneity
- Art by Sikhs and solidarity
- Multiculturalism and Sikh art/art by Sikhs
- Neoliberalism and funding Sikh art collections, Sikh artists
- Creative/artistic memory and memorialization’s of Sikhs and Sikh histories in Canada
- Addressing gender violence through Sikh artistic creations
- Art, class and labour politics
- Youth politics and Sikh art/Sikh artists
- Collecting and Archiving Sikh art in BC
- Sikh artists in BC
- The role of Seva as reflected in arts and communities
- Sikhi design and its impacts
- Publics and Sikhi art practices
Please submit an abstract of 200-300 words by June 30, 2026 to davinab@uvic.ca or dhamoonr@uvic.ca.
All papers must be submitted to the BC Studies OJS site by 31 October 2026. Contributors will need to register and follow submission guidelines at https://bcstudies.com/submissions/submission-guidelines//. Submissions will be blind peer-reviewed. Publication is planned for summer of 2027.
For any inquiries, please reach out to the guest editors: