HFCD 2024: Historical Frames, Current Dialogues: A Multidisciplinary Symposium on Photography in Asia National Gallery of Singapore Singapore, Singapore, April 5-6, 2024 |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=historicalframescurr0 |
Abstract registration deadline | December 15, 2023 |
Submission deadline | December 15, 2023 |
Extended abstract & submission deadline | January 31, 2024 |
Under the granted research project Creation and Analysis of a Digital Asset with the Gibson-Hill Photographic Collection, the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore has undertaken a significant endeavour to digitize and restore the Gibson-Hill Photographic collection at the National Museum of Singapore. Taking this newly created digital asset of close to 7,600 film negatives as our starting point, this symposium will bring together researchers and practitioners to examine the contemporary relevance of Dr. Carl Alexander Gibson-Hill’s photography, and more broadly, early to mid-20th century photography, visual images, writing, and their archives on Malaya, Southeast Asia, or broader transnational and global contexts.
Through interdisciplinary exchange and discussion, we aim to explore the complex connections between local histories and their global counterparts, not only in understanding the ways in which photography and visual culture have shaped our understanding of the past, but also in finding new ways to engage with historical material objects (photographs, sketches and drawings, handwritings) and their digital recreations in the present world.
Centering on modern photography and its archives in Asia, entangled histories (local/global, colonial/post-, natural/urban), and digital technologies, while keeping in perspective the cultural and historical contexts in which these entanglements can be identified and discussed, the symposium aims to foster critical dialogue and collaboration among scholars, practitioners, and stakeholders. It will provide a platform for innovative approaches to explore several lines of discussion. These include, but are not limited to:
- Revisiting social, environmental, and art histories through photography and visual culture in Post-war Asia.
- Examining the various applications of digital technologies in modern photography (e.g. experiencing photography through VR and AR, the future of photo archiving, NFTs in the cultural heritage domain, etc).
- Reapproaching photography as a form/method of storytelling and visual narration from postcolonial, ecocritical, and other critical perspectives, amongst others.
Ultimately, the symposium aims to bridge the past, present, and future of photography through multidisciplinary dialogues and discussions on the rapidly changing landscapes of Southeast Asian and global photography technologies and cultures. The symposium anticipates approximately 15 paper presentions, divided into 5 panels. It seeks to approach these topics from a multidisciplinary perspective, and as such welcomes proposals in the areas of photography studies, media studies, visual and cultural studies, visual anthropology, visual sociology, urban studies, history of art, colonial history, Singapore and Southeast Asian studies, digital humanities, and environmental humanities.
Please submit a presentation proposal with a paper title and a 250-word abstract, and fill out the required information by 15th December 2023*. All selected presenters will be notified by 30th December 2023.* For enquiries on submission, please email us at kiuwai.chu@ntu.edu.sg, shoh@ntu.edu.sg, or sherying.wee@ntu.edu.sg
*Update: The submission deadline has been extended to 31st Jan 2024.
*Update: All selected presenters will be notified by 15th February 2024.
Conference Organizers: Kiu-wai Chu (Nanyang Technological University of Singapore), Oh Soon-Hwa (Nanyang Technological University of Singapore), Terence Heng (University of Liverpool)