Janina Gardzielewska awaiting the opening of the Nicolaus Copernicus House Museum, Toruń, June 1, 1960, a photograph from the family album of Janina and Zygfryd Gardzielewski, from the collection of the University Library in Toruń
Call For Papers
The sixth Fast Forward: Women in Photography conference
Beyond The Canon: exhibiting, curating and collecting photography by women
The conference will take place on October 10-12, 2025
at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Nicolaus Copernicus in Toruń, Poland
The deadline for the submission: 27 January, 2025, 5pm (GMT)
Fast Forward: Women in Photography together with University of Nicolaus Copernicus in Toruń announces the Polish edition of the Fast Forward conference Beyond The Canon, which is organized in partnership with Vintage Photo Festival.
The research project Fast Forward: Women in Photography aims to explore the work and histories of women photographers, promote opportunities and question ideas dominating the field of photography by initiating thoughtful, new debates. Initiated in 2014 with a panel discussion at Tate Modern, the project has become significant within the world of photography for examining the work of women photographers and for questioning the way that the established canons have been formed.
The sixth Fast Forward conference that will take place in Toruń, Poland explores the (hi)stories of women in photography with a particular reference to how women’s work is curated, exhibited and collected by museums, institutions, festivals, galleries and individuals. We are interested in the curators, the collectors and the photographers and through this inspiring conference intend to make a unique contribution to the study of women in the field of art by looking in detail about how exhibiting and collecting photography works.
For years photography was considered as a mediocre medium by the art world, its museums and galleries. Towards the mid 1990s the position of photography in the art world started to change and today it has become the “hot topic” of the global art field with works being exhibited, bought and sold at the highest prices and shown in the most revered exhibition spaces. What place has women’s photographic work taken in this booming business? How have women provoked new discourses concerning the limitations/problems of the canon? How have women been exhibited, collected and conserved?
You are invited to submit a 500-word abstract to apply to make a presentation at the conference. Questions of interest include but are not limited to:
>> How do institution / museum collections address the equal representation of women and non-binary people? What challenges and experiences they face in this process?
>> What are the new ways to preserve and archive the women’s work in photography?
>> What can we do about the glass ceiling in the art marketplace and what effects does this market have on institutions?
>> What collaborative methods are being used or have been used between individuals and institutions for making a real change?
>> Throughout histories and including the present how have women collected, make visible, and valuable other women? How do we measure the impact of women curators and collectors in shaping the narrative of photographic history?
>> How digital technology and online tolls support the processes of visibility and preservation of women’s photographic work?
We invite submissions that investigate artistic research, curatorial and collaborative methodologies, conservation and archival concerns, as well as new theoretical and practical discussion around women’s work in photographic field. We welcome abstracts from a range of scholars, researchers, curators, archivists, and cultural producers working in and around the above mentioned areas, in different continents and at different stages of their career.
The conference will include exhibition and collection visits over a three-day period including two-day conference held at the Faculty of Fine Arts Nicolaus Copernicus University Toruń, Poland and one day visiting the exhibitions of the Vintage Photo Festival held in Bydgoszcz, Poland. We will also visit the conservation centre of the Nicolaus Copernicus University.
There will be no conference fee.
Papers will be considered for publication in an established academic journal.
Organizing Committee:
Professor Anna Fox (Fast Forward / University for the Creative Arts)
Maria Kapajeva (Fast Forward / University for the Creative Arts, Estonian Academy of Arts)
Dr Katarzyna Gębarowska (Vintage Photo Festival, University of Nicolaus Copernicus)
Submission regulations:
The abstract and CV submitted must be in English only. However, as the working languages of the conference are Polish and English, the presentation during the conference can be done in one of these two languages. Please, submit the following documents: 1. a 500-word abstract in a PDF format, no images, one page. Please make sure your full name and the title of the paper are at the top of the abstract. Please name the file as follows: ‘Your surname_Initial of you first name_abstract’ (ex: ‘Smith_J_abstract’) 2. CV (maximum two A4 pages) in a PDF format, no images. Please name the file as follows: ‘Your surname_Initial of the first name_CV’ (ex: ‘Smith_J_CV’) Both files must be submitted to email info@fastforward.photography with the subject line “Polish Edition – submission”
