On 26 - 29 May 2024, Eye Filmmuseum, the University of Amsterdam and the Laboratory for Experimental Museology (eM+) at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) will present the 9th Eye International Conference, this time with the topic ‘Presenting Audiovisual Collections: Experiments and Explorations’.
The 9th annual Eye International Conference is an opportunity for scholars, archivists, curators, filmmakers, students, artists, and film enthusiasts from across the world to gather together and discuss contemporary professional and academic issues affecting audiovisual heritage today. This edition is organised within the context of the Swiss National Fund’s project Narratives from the long tail: Transforming access to audiovisual archives. Through computational processes and the development of immersive exhibition formats, Narratives sets out to address and resolve the gap between digital archives and the embodied, participatory world of museological experience.
The conference will open the topic of exploring and experimenting with audiovisual collection presentation, by focusing on formats emerging both inside and outside the settings of the conventional film theatre and/or beyond traditional curatorial frameworks, that afford new forms of public engagement and access. This focus comprises (but is not limited to): immersive, participatory, or multi-screen formats; alternative presentation models that use emerging technologies or low-tech and creative DIY approaches; experimentation with computational analysis of audiovisual collections; and explorations in remix and artistic reuse. Within this scope, ‘Presenting Audiovisual Collections: Experiments and Explorations’ is seeking contributions that cut across different fields, practices, institutions, collectives and regional contexts, to reflect a diverse array of emerging and creative public-facing curatorial approaches.
The programme committee is calling for proposals that address the following topics and questions:
● Novel modes of presentation in public spaces, including mobile screens, augmented reality, public screens and wall projection.
● Performative and experimental approaches to presenting audiovisual collections, including VJ sets and theatrical projections (both analog and digital) with novel live components.
● Creative access efforts as a result of locally specific contexts (e.g., Ajabu Ajabu Audio Visual House’s promotion of live “pirate” film translators in Tanzania, the “Cinema on Wheels” initiative of the Korean Film Archive to reach remote audiences).
● Immersive, embodied, and participatory forms of engagement and meaning-making via computational methods, including installations and systems like T_Visionarium and Eye Filmmuseum’s Film Catcher.
● Sensory heritage-approaches involving AI analysis and data visualisation for the analysis and engagement with AV collections’ sensory features.
● Speculative design/fiction-projects that take audiovisual archives as their departure point for sociocultural inquiry and future social imaginaries.
● DIY, lo- and no-budget approaches to experimenting with AI-driven presentation of AV collections and/or approaches to online and digital dissemination and access (e.g., online platforms, mobile applications).
● Emerging technologies and/or creative forms of curatorial engagement with presenting marginalised or difficult audiovisual collections.
● Critical-creative rethinking of issues relating to public-facing curatorial labour around audiovisual collections more broadly (e.g., legal, ethical, and political matters, inequities, resources, challenges, potentials).
● The future of audiovisual collections presentation, including emerging conceptualizations of public-facing curatorship in relation to notions of care, (community) co-creation, and collaboration.
● Work on contemporary issues related to audience engagement with and reception of audiovisual collection presentations of all kinds.
We encourage proposals from participants, archives, regions, and topics that are underrepresented in conferences related to audiovisual heritage.
Presentation formats
We welcome presentations in a wide range of formats, including the following:
* Report or Paper Presentation. 15-20-minute report/paper presentation plus 5 minutes for Q&A.
* Panel. A 60-minute session consisting of a panel of 3-4 individuals who discuss a variety of theories or perspectives on a given topic. Panels consist of 40 minutes of presentation with 20 minutes of Q&A.
* Show-and-tell. A 10-minute short presentation of a case study or archival material.
* Roundtable Discussion. A 50-minute session of informal presentations on a general subject area, where participants share what they know. Proposals in this category ideally
include a facilitator who moderates the discussion.
* Screening Session. A 60-minute presentation which includes a screening. The session may include speakers/discussion but the screening portion should be a minimum 35 minutes.
*Artistic Interventions/Performative Lecture. A maximum 50-minute presentation/performance. The session may include speakers/discussion but the performance/intervention portion should be a minimum of 35 minutes.
* Poster Presentation. A 5-minute pre recorded session with a poster image. The poster video will be posted on the conference platform.
* Evening Screenings. A film programme or a single feature film, with a short introduction.
-> The programme committee may discuss with presenters appropriate alteration of a format or duration when this makes curatorial sense for the programme as a whole.
-> There is a possibility to accommodate a number of live streamed or recorded video presentations by speakers who may be unable or choose not to travel.
-> The conference will be recorded for live streaming and online sharing through Eye’s platforms. By sending in a proposal you agree to this possibility.
-> All proposals must be sent in English. However, there is a possibility to accommodate presentations in other languages, for example in the form of pre recorded video with English subtitles, this should be clearly requested by prospective speakers in their proposals.
How to apply
You can submit your proposal online at www.eyefilm.nl/conference. A proposal should
include the following:
*A description (400 words) for the reviewers with information about the topic and why the session is important to be included in the programme. It should also identify AV materials by title, format, and duration.
*An abstract (150 words) that will appear in the conference programme and online if your
presentation is accepted.
*A short bio (50 words) for each speaker.
*Images (for which the copyrights are cleared).
*Image captions.
*Screener (only applicable for screening session or evening screening proposals).
Deadline
15 December 2023.
Registration
The conference will take place in hybrid form to accommodate everyone. There will be a separate registration fee for in-person and virtual participation. Please note: It's compulsory for all speakers to register for the conference. We are unable to offer any financial compensation and/or waive registration fee. However, speakers might apply for one of the limited number of travel grants available.
Travel Grant Programme
Eye has a travel grant programme for accepted speakers of the Eye International Conference. The grants, up to €500 each, can be used to partially offset registration and travel costs. To apply, please submit a brief motivation (no more than 500 words) addressing the financial need for the award, as well as how your presence at the conference will contribute to your professional development. Please make sure to also inform us where you will be travelling from. Email your application by January 5, 2024, to conference@eyefilm.nl, using the term ‘Travel Grant’ in the subject header. The travel grant programme is only open for speakers of the Eye International Conference 2024.
Schedule
The Eye International Conference 2024 will take place in Amsterdam, from Sunday 26 May to Wednesday 29 May 2024. Wednesday 29th May consists of an Open House at the Eye Collection Centre, a programme of guided tours, presentations, demonstrations and
discussions.
Participants are also invited to an annual side event, Meet the Archive, a public programme highlighting recent projects from the Eye Collection) on Saturday 25 May;
Programme committee
● Giovanna Fossati (Eye/UvA)
● Irene Haan (Eye)
● Eleni Tzialli (Eye)
● Christian Gosvig Olesen (UvA)
● Kate Saccone (UvA)
● Sarah Kenderine (EPFL/eM+)
● Yuchen Yang (EPFL/eM+)
● Stéphanie Romon (EPFL/eM+)
This event is organised by Eye Filmmuseum in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and Laboratory for Experimental Museology (eM+) which is part of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) within the context of the Narratives project - a collaboration between the Laboratory for Experimental Museology (eM+), EPFL; Visual Intelligence for Transportation Laboratory (VITA) EPFL, Visualization and MultiMedia Laboratory (VMML) University of Zürich and; Faculty of Humanities. University of Amsterdam (UvA). It is supported by Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA), Amsterdam School for Heritage,
Memory and Material Culture (AHM) and Netherlands Institute for Cultural Analysis (NICA).
For more information: www.eyefilm.nl/conference, email: conference@eyefilm.nl