Ligatures is a research and education initiative that explores the intersections of writing, calligraphy, typography, and written or printed language as cultural expressions.

We invite PhD candidates, Master’s students, and recent graduates to submit short presentation proposals for the Ligatures Summer School 2025, which will take place on July 18, 2025, at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto, with co-hosted activities at the iconic Foundation Marques da Silva.

The Summer School is a space for dialogue, exchange, and experimentation around the material, formal, and cultural dimensions of language. It brings together researchers, designers, and artists working with visual language across historical, conceptual, and applied perspectives.

We welcome oral presentation proposals addressing (but not limited to):
– Historical, conceptual, or applied research
– Case studies or design artifacts
– Interdisciplinary or experimental approaches to writing systems and letterforms

Why submit?
All accepted participants will be invited to spend a day presenting and discussing their work in a supportive and intellectually rich environment.

In addition, all those who submit proposals will receive priority access to register for the hands-on workshops, including:
• An analog drawing and expressive lettering workshop with Julien Priez, on June 16
• A creative coding and computational typography session with keynote speaker Maurice Meilleur, on June 17

Submission Platform:
https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/LIGA2025/

All details available at:
https://ligatures.fba.up.pt/2025/summer-school-2025.html

We look forward to reading your proposals and welcoming you to Porto this summer!