Uncharismatic Aliens: Weird Life on Earth and Beyond in Science Fiction and Bio Art

International Conference – Porto, Portugal

(June 5th 2026)

In recent decades, the scientific search for extraterrestrial life has undergone a significant conceptual transformation. Earlier astrobiological research largely focused on identifying environments similar to those on Earth—particularly the presence of water and organic molecules—as indicators that life might exist elsewhere in the universe. Increasingly, however, scientists recognize that truly alien life may not resemble terrestrial biology at all. Rather than searching only for “life as we know it,” astrobiologists now explore the possibility that organisms could arise from unfamiliar biochemical systems, rely on alternative solvents, or take forms that challenge our current definitions of life.

This shift has important cultural implications. At first glance, the idea of radically different forms of life might evoke the spectacular aliens of popular science fiction. Yet scientific discussions of extraterrestrial life often point toward organisms that are far less dramatic and far more difficult to recognize. Many possible forms of life—whether on Earth or on other planets—may appear strange, subtle, or difficult to interpret from a human perspective. They may lack recognizable morphology, visible activity, or the kinds of behaviors that make organisms legible and appealing to human observers. In this sense, much life may be “uncharismatic”: alien not because it is monstrous or spectacular, but because it does not easily fit within human expectations of what life should look like or how it should behave.

At the same time, Earth itself is already home to an extraordinary diversity of unfamiliar and often overlooked organisms and life systems. From unusual microbial communities and extremophiles to symbiotic networks and unconventional biological structures, terrestrial life frequently challenges anthropocentric assumptions about individuality, perception, agency, and ecological organization. Paying attention to such forms of life can help us rethink what counts as “alien,” revealing that the strange and unfamiliar are not confined to distant planets but are already present within the biosphere of our own world.

This conference takes the notion of uncharismatic aliens as a starting point for exploring weird and unfamiliar life forms both on Earth and beyond it. Bringing together scholars, artists, and researchers from across the humanities, sciences, and arts, the event will examine how science fiction, speculative thought, and contemporary artistic practices engage with organisms that resist familiar biological and cultural categories. Such life forms may be microscopic or macroscopic, biological or quasi-biological, individual or ecological, perceptible or largely invisible to human senses.

A particular interest of the conference lies in the potential of Bio Art and related artistic practices to render strange forms of life perceptible and experientially accessible. By giving visual, material, or sensory form to living systems that might otherwise remain abstract or hidden, such works can create new ways of encountering unfamiliar organisms and environments. Through installations, performances, and interdisciplinary collaborations, art may offer powerful means of engaging with forms of life that challenge conventional ideas about biological value, species hierarchy, and human centrality.

The conference will also accompany the exhibition of newly commissioned Bio Art works responding to the theme of strange and uncharismatic life. Together, these artistic and scholarly contributions aim to broaden our understanding of biological diversity, extraterrestrial possibility, and the limits of human imagination.

Possible topics include (but are not limited to): 

• Meeting the alien halfway: epistemological and ontological bridge-making in our search for life on Earth and beyond

• Scientific and fictional contact zones: where the terrestrial and the (extra)terrestrial already meet & mingle

• Weird or uncharismatic life forms in science fiction

• Representations of alien life in literature, film, and games

• Unfamiliar or overlooked organisms in terrestrial ecosystems

• Plausible alien biologies and speculative astrobiology

• Alien ecosystems and non-individual forms of life

• The aesthetics of biological strangeness: Bio Art and artistic engagements with unusual life forms

• The limits of human perception in encounters with strange organisms

• Anthropocentrism and the representation of nonhuman life

• Posthumanist approaches to biological diversity and alienness

• Speculative ecologies and planetary life systems

Submission Guidelines

Please submit:

An abstract of 250–300 words

A short bio (100 words)

Send submissions to: guimaraesjpc@gmail.com 

Deadline for abstracts: May 10th

Notification of acceptance: May 15th

The conference will take place in Porto, Portugal, and will include presentations, panel discussions, and an exhibition of newly commissioned Bio Art works. Selected contributions may be invited for inclusion in a planned edited collection exploring strange and uncharismatic life forms in science fiction, art, and contemporary thought.

We welcome submissions from scholars and artists working in literature, cultural studies, science and technology studies, art history, philosophy, environmental humanities, astrobiology, and related fields, as well as from practitioners engaged in Bio Art or other experimental artistic practices.

Organizing Committee:

João Paulo Guimarães (ILCML/Porto)

Inês Caldas (ILCML/Porto)

Lizzie Smith (University of Warwick)

Ana Salvan (Independent Researcher)