GTA Conferences
Since its foundings in 1978, the Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications organized conferences and congresses. Besides their cross-pollination of ideas among its members and friends, these regular conferences help to maintain the visibility of Gestalt theory, and to help represent its views as part of larger scientific discourse and in varied practical areas.
These international conferences have been held regularly since 1979. Each is organized in cooperation with a university or academic institution, up to now in an European country, including not only Germany and Austria, but also Poland and quite often, Italy. Every two years, GTA members and scientists, and other interested parties gather – for lectures, workshops, and poster presentations – to share their views and discoveries, and to explore new lines of inquiry and new developments in the field. The experience is enriched by reportedy enjoyable social events, providing new opportunities for dreative cominglin of personalities and ideas, in the synergy of human relation.
Current Conference
We mourn the loss of Silvia Bonacchi (1966–2026)
Prof. Dr Silvia Bonacchi passed away on 1 July 2026 in Tonfano (Italy) following a serious illness. We are deeply saddened by this loss – and grateful for all she has done over many years for the GTA and for the further development of our journal, *Gestalt Theory*.
Silvia had been a member of the GTA Executive Committee since 2011 and Executive Editor of *Gestalt Theory* since 2018. She had been active as an advisory editor of the journal since 2007. Even back then, she had already contributed her expertise in Gestalt theory through her linguistic doctoral thesis ‘The Gestalt of Poetry: The Influence of Gestalt Theory on the Work of Robert Musil’ (1998) and through further works in linguistics and cultural studies. In her work on the Executive Board, her diverse academic and international professional and personal networks enabled us to draw on and build upon many ideas for deepening and modernising our collaboration. Following her appointment at the University of Warsaw, we were her guests on several occasions at symposia. The 21st GTA Academic Conference, which she organised together with Jagna Brudzinska at the University of Warsaw and the Polish Academy of Sciences, remains unforgettable. She was also a driving force behind establishing and strengthening our links with the Italian network for Experimental Phenomenology. As Managing Editor of *Gestalt Theory*, she, together with Fiorenza Toccafondi and Tiziano Agostini, energetically and with foresight shaped the journal’s organisational reorientation, internationalisation and professionalisation within the changing publishing landscape.
We have lost a dear friend, a strong personality, an excellent scholar of international standing, a warm-hearted, generous and humorous, enthusiastic and courageous woman whom we all miss very much.