FAQs

The 2021 Annual Conference was expanded to a four day event to accommodate sessions from this year’s conference which was cancelled. The 2021 conference will still take place over four days, from 14 – 17 April, and we will continue to work with the Department of Art History, Curating and Visual Studies at the University of Birmingham, and with museums and galleries in Birmingham. Session Convenors and speakers will be invited to participate and present their papers digitally, and participate in digital session discussions and debates on-screen, using a secure virtual event platform that will allow delegates maximum access to papers and discussions. Session and paper formats will remain the same, and the four-day programme will continue to offer a range of additional workshops, virtual tours, keynote lectures and networking opportunities for delegates to engage with. We will be conscious of international time differences and screen-fatigue, but aim to offer delegates the same quality of content and experience that people have come to expect, respect and enjoy at an Association for Art History Annual Conference.

Q. How do I access the virtual platform

A. Session Convenors will receive an email on Wednesday 7 April with the link and a 'User Guide' document which will show convenors and speakers how to access the platform and what to expect when they 'join' a session including how to upload their presentation. Session Convenors are to forward the link and guide to their speakers.

A. Everyone who has registered including session convenors, speakers and delegates will receive the link via email on Monday 12 April. To download the delegate 'User Guide' please click here (please note this guide is the general guide to access the system)

Questions about proposing and presenting session/papers

Q. Do I need to be a member to attend or propose or present a session/paper?
A. You do not need to be a member to attend or propose or present a paper or session. Our Annual Conferences, like all our events, are open to everyone. However, members of the Association do receive a discounted ticket price, but standard tickets apply for individuals and concessions (see FAQs about ticket prices and eligibility below).

Q. I’ve agreed to give a paper in a 2020 session can I also give a paper in a 2021 session?
A. Speakers can only give one paper in one session. This is to encourage as much participation as possible across all sessions and give as many delegates opportunity to participate as possible.

Q. Can I propose papers for more than one session?
A. Yes, you can propose multiple papers, but you can only present a paper in one session. So, if your paper is accepted for more than one session you will need to choose which session you want to present in.

Q. Can I convene a session and present a paper?
A. You can present a paper in your own session, but not in another session.

Q. What is the length of time to present my paper?
A. Your paper slot will be 30 minutes which consists of 25 minutes to present your paper and 5 minutes to answer questions from the audience.

Q. How will I present my paper?
A. We will give all convenors and speakers guidelines and clear instructions on what platform we are using, how presentations will take place and look, and what will be expected. We will share these in due course, but we have taken care to select a platform that we believe offers simplicity of use, but good scope for engagement.

 

Questions about tickets, paying and eligibility 

Q. Will I have to pay to attend the Annual Conference or will it be free?
A. The Association for Art History is a charity and our Annual Conference is run as a sustainable event. The 2021 online Annual Conference will remain ticketed and we will continue to charge for access to the virtual event, albeit as a lower rate than we would for a physical event because we won’t be providing refreshments and won’t have venue hire overheads. However, many usual, and some additional costs remain, such as digital platforms and technical support, which are considerable for an event of this scale. Our aim for any Annual Conference, be it online or in-person, is to deliver a valuable delegate experience, and a value for money event.

Q. Do speakers and convenors have to pay to attend?
A. All delegates, including speakers and convenors must pay to attend (which is standard practice for many academic conferences). There are no specific tickets for speakers and convenors. If you are a speaker or convenor choose the ticket option that applies to you. For example, if you are a student and speaker then opt for the student/concession ticket.

Q. Why is the conference ticketed in this way?
A. The Association for Art History is a charity and our Annual Conference is run as a sustainable event. Because we often work with University conference offices, who charge us commercial rates, we need to cover event costs, such as venue hire, catering, security, technical and facilities. We ensure that our Annual Conference tickets are comparable to, or cheaper than, similar academic conferences. We keep ticket prices as low as possible and consistent year on year if we can. Conference ticket prices are often determined in relation to the commercial charges that we have to pay to deliver the event.

Q. What will my virtual ticket give me access to?
A. The 2021 Annual Conference will be a fully virtual event, so tickets will give you access to all or partial aspects of the four day programme. Every session, workshop, keynote and tour will be presented and accessible online. We currently envisage that most things will take place live, although some aspects may be pre-recorded. Some sessions, tours or workshops may have number capacity limits but these will be set as high as possible. We are designing the programme and platform to be as flexible as possible so that delegates can pick and chose their schedule and sessions. 

Q. Do I have to be a member of the Association to attend the Annual Conference?
A. No, the Annual Conference is open to all. However, if you are a member you get a significant discount on your conference ticket, as well as other membership benefits including discounted tickets to other events, eligibility for grants and access to the art history residency programme.

Q. Can I become a member and book for the conference at the same time?
A. Yes you can. This year we have introduced a new ‘one-click’ booking and joining option so that you can get your conference ticket and get your membership in one purchase. You will be able to get your conference ticket with either a standard annual membership (which is £60) or a concessionary annual membership (which is £30). This is a fixed combined ticket so additional discounts for CAA or SSAH members will not be applied to this combination ticket.

Q. When will tickets become available?
A. Tickets are now available. We want to ensure that our conference experience is as useful, accessible and appealing as possible, and that we price that properly so as to encourage a broad international engagement, and that we invite as many people to attend and benefit from this event as we can.

Q. Can I pay to attend just one session/paper?
A. Whilst we aim to make the event as flexible and accessible as possible for people, we currently only offer day-rate options, not tickets for single sessions or papers.

Q. If I want to attend for one day only should I specify which day?
A. Yes please. You should choose the one-day ticket for the day you require.

Q. Am I eligible for a member ticket if my institution has organisational membership?
A. Yes, if you are one of the named people attached to the organisational membership.

Q. Am I eligible for a concession ticket?
A. Concessionary tickets apply to delegates, convenors and speakers who are students or have an annual income below £20,000. You may be asked to provide proof of your concessionary status when you register at the event.

Q. Will I receive an actual ticket?
A. You will receive a booking confirmation by email (check your spam folders as well as your primary inbox). We encourage you to keep a copy of this booking for your records and reference. When you arrive at Registration at the Annual Conference your name will be checked on a list of bookers and you will be given your delegate badge and any additional information that you have requested.

Q. Can I get a Two-day ticket?
A. Yes you can. The ticket options we offer are a full 4-day ticket or a one day ticket, but you can purchase multiple one day tickets depending on when you want to attend. This option is designed to give delegates as much flexibility around choosing their days as possible.

Q. Is there a booking deadline?
A. Ticket booking will remain open up until the event. Speakers and Convenors will need to register by 15 March so that all speakers and convenors are and synced with the virtual event software ahead of the event, which is a necessary requirement of the virtual event system.

Questions about support and provisions

Q. Do you offer any conference grants or bursaries?
A. Yes, we offer bursaries for Doctoral and Early Career Researchers wishing to attend the conference. They are competitive bursaries and allocated on basis of highest need for support. Application deadline for DECR conference bursaries is 29 January 2021 full details can be found here 

Q. Do you provide printed copies of the Conference Programme?
A. In our continued efforts to make the Annual Conference as environmentally friendly as possible and to reduce waste where possible, we try to limit what we print and produce. Even before the decision to go virtual, the 2021 Annual Conference was scheduled to see further reductions in printed materials, including a printed programme. We will produce a digital version of the Conference Programme, this will exist as a pdf document/booklet, as well as the online programme on the website conference pages. You will be able to access both and be able to create your own digital online schedule - much like using a conference app - AND you will be able to view and download a pdf programme. We won't be producing any printed copies of the programme and the programme will be made available only in English. The digital programme and online information will include abstracts, speakers and timings for all sessions and papers.

Q. Will papers be translated and/or delivered in different languages?
A. Because this is a UK based academic conference papers are usually delivered in English unless specific arrangements have been made for a translator to be present or the paper to be made available in another language as the request of the speaker or convenor.

Q. Will transcripts of papers be made available after the conference?
A. We do not currently make available transcripts of papers before or after the event largely because there are so many of them (often over 300) and also because many of the research papers presented are part of an individual’s research practices, and therefore their own intellectual property. The Association for Art History does not own the research presented at the Annual Conference.

Q. Will the Annual Conference be digitised and made available afterwards?
A. We may record and make available aspects of the Annual Conference, such as keynotes and some workshops, however, we will not be able to make available the full event.

Q. How can I contact the organisers with any questions?
A. For Annual Conference booking enquiries, and other questions, please contact the Association for Art History main office, details for which you’ll find online at www.forarthistory.org.uk

Questions about refunds and cancellations

Q. What is the refund policy?
A. We offer a 30-day full refund policy up until 1 March 2021. No refunds will be made after 1 March. Cancellations made beyond this date will be non-refundable, but pre-paid bookings may be transferable to the next Annual Conference depending upon circumstances.

Questions about the Conference experience and who the event is for

Q. What is the Annual Conference like?
A. The Association for Art History conference has a longstanding, and well respected, mission to promote broad and inclusive international art history. We are very proud of the quality and content that this key annual event delivers and generates. We will strive for and aim to deliver exactly the same breadth, scope and quality of content for the virtual 2021 event as we would be any Annual Conference (or any Association event).

Taking place over 4 days, this international annual academic conference will host around 60 panel sessions and around 300 research papers within different panels. International research papers are usually about art, art history, visual cultures that cover a breadth of topics, periods, practices and fields of research that span geographies and disciplines.

The conference programme includes several keynotes, presented by international and influential people in the arts, humanities and culture.

In addition to research papers and academic panel sessions the conference includes a fringe programme of workshops, meet-ups, socials, tours and networking opportunities that are focused around topical or relevant themes, such as areas of professional development or timely debates or challenges.

The Annual Conference hosts international research and delegates from all around the world. Delegates are often university or college academics, curators, researchers, doctoral and post-doctoral students, artists and other practitioners and anyone else with a research in art history and visual culture. Publishers and editors also attend and exhibit at the conference.

There is a huge range of cross disciplinary papers and presenters, not everyone who attends is an art historian, there are many people whose research or work encompasses art history, such as areas of social history, visual anthropology, art practice, architecture, sociology, written and visual languages etc.