Reinventing Photography: Originary Moments and Primal Scenes (A)

The French Ministère de la culture, in association with a scientific committee of scholars, curators, and artists, has officially designated 2026/2027 as the Bicentennial of Photography, marking the moment that Nicéphore Niépce succeeded in preserving the fleeting image formed by a camera obscura on a tin plate. A year of celebration includes exhibitions, publications, conferences, and commissions that mark the invention, while continuing to probe the nature of the medium, the effect and affect of practice and preservation, and its relevance today. Let us play.

This session has been conceived as a constellation of short papers, demonstrations, and performances reflecting on an image (mental or material) that flashed up before the presenter, and continues to do so, as an inspiration or counter-inspiration for their work. The image need not come from any artistic canon or scientific discovery, though it might. Perhaps the speaker took such an image; perhaps they recognized it in an album, an archive or a flea market; perhaps it never existed (ekphrasis welcome!). This exercise need not be confessional or sentimental, though passion, from crazy love to righteous anger, is to be expected.

In the interdisciplinary spirit of photography studies and the intermediation of contemporary art, and with the current upsurge in interest in the archival practices, possibilities are limitless. No geographical or temporal boundaries could or should be imposed. For both speakers and attendees, this double session will be an opportunity to workshop ideas. We are testing the waters for the contents of a special issue or book that will reveal the wellsprings, interests and audacity of current photography research and creative practice.

How can you participate? Join us in person by or online by registering for the Zoom Meeting or watching live on YouTube.

Have questions or if we can make this event more accessible for you: Contact us at info.4@concordia.ca

Jillian Lerner 

Le Secq: Face Down on His Terrain

Vanessa Bateman

A Century of Nest Cams: From Finley and Bohlman to YouTube Livestreams

John O'Brian

All the Atoms We Cannot See 

Tammer El-Sheikh

From Birmingham to Gaza: Colonial Primal Scenes in Andy Warhol's Race Riots (1963) and Ibrahim Abusitta's Operations (2026)

Blessy Augustine 

To see the light

Roxanne Panchasi 

Poor Visibility: Seeing Algerian Victims of the French Bomb 

Kelann Currie-Willaims 

"Pictures of People Taking Pictures": Framing Caribbean Carnival at Toronto's 1967 Caribana

Martha Langford 

For the full abstracts and speaker bios, visit the UAAC - AAUC Conference Programme.