Call for Papers: PhD Colloquium “Designing for Exhibitions”, London, 25 April 2014

Date: 25 April 2014
Location: Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, UK
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 16 December 2013

Call for Papers: PhD Colloquium “Designing for Exhibitions”
Exhibition design is a rich and varied field of practice and can be approached from a range of different perspectives including those of designers, institutions and audiences. Topics of discussion might range from questions of how design shapes the way content is represented and experienced in galleries, to investigations of individual design disciplines that are involved in the process of exhibition making such as interior design, scenography, exhibition graphics, digital media, lighting or sound design.

This one-day colloquium, held in association with the summit “Chaos at the Museum” organised by Central Saint Martins and the University of California Davis, seeks to create a platform for the discussion of current PhD research in the area of exhibition design, and to initiate a dialogue on questions such as:

What is exhibition design, as practice and as outcome?
How and why is exhibition design changing?
Who are the designers, producers, makers, authors of an exhibition?
What is the role of design in museum and exhibition making?
What is the role of the designer?
How are these roles evolving with changing interpretation and display strategies?
What is the relationship between design and content, between design and object?
What is the relationship between the designer and the curator, the institution, the visitor?
How does exhibition design impact on the stories that are told and on the visitors’ experiences of these stories?

We invite PhD students and early career researchers, whose research addresses the topic of designing for exhibitions and museums, to submit proposals for short papers. We are aiming to create a day of presentations, conversations and exchange shaped by the interests and themes emerging from the submissions.

Abstracts:
Abstracts should be no more than 250 words in length. Submissions should also include the title, author name, contact details and a short biography. The document should be emailed as word-file to: Jona Piehl at j.piehl1@arts.ac.uk by Monday, 16^th December, 2013.

Key dates:
November 2013: Call for Papers
16th December 2013: Abstracts due for submission
3rd February 2014: Notification of acceptance and information on the schedule for the day
25 April 2014: PhD Colloquium “Designing for Exhibitions”, CSM, London, UK
25-27 April 2014: International Design Summit “Chaos at the Museum”, CSM, London, UK