The journal invites artists and writers to contribute to a discussion of syncretism – the reconciliation of disparate beliefs, systems of thought and forms of expression. Syncretism is the acceptance of a foreign or unfamiliar practice or in Diderot’s thought, the harmony of eclectic sources. More recently it has become associated with Candomble, Santeria and Vodou, which reflect the myriad of African, Amerindian, European and North American cultures from which they emerged. Here, the ostensible incorporation allowed for covert resistance and a rich process of mélange, in which associations between symbols, icons, and a variety of techniques and media are assembled.

 The next issue of Drain would like to query whether syncretism is an appropriate term for the constructive interaction between different cultures and, or is syncretism a means to delineate a particular avenue of cultural imperialism? Can syncretism be used to describe the fluid transference of the sacred and secular in contemporary art? Finally, may syncretism more generally be described as a disjunctive and open form of cultural production, as applicable to Haitian Vodou as it is to multi-media installation and open source works on the web?

Deadline: August 20th, 2005

Launch: October 20th, 2005