Call for Contributors
ARLIS UK & Ireland Annual Conference 2025
Stacks, Studio and Beyond: Artists and the Art Library
Date: 1-3 July 2025
Limerick School of Art & Design, TUS: Midlands Midwest
Taking place at the Limerick School of Art & Design at the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest, the ARLIS UK & Ireland conference 2025 invites proposals for presentations and workshops around the theme of Stacks, Studio, and Beyond: Artists and the Art Library. We are seeking contributions that reflect the lifecycle of the relationship between the artist and the art library, from the artist's education and artistic practice to the preservation of artists' legacies and histories; this conference will delve into the innovative ways art libraries are supporting artists at the various phases of their creative life. Exploring how we can further strengthen this connection between artists and libraries, the conference will highlight some of the essential functions that art libraries are serving as supporters of education, creativity, community and preservation in the cultural ecology.
In considering this topic, we encourage a broad range of disciplinary and career perspectives, including (but not limited to) librarians, academics, archivists, artists, curators, designers, educators, writers, and all those working in the creative and cultural industries.
Contributions might cover, but are not limited to:
Supporting the Education of the Artist
- The art library's role in Higher Education for the arts
- Widening access to art historical knowledge via the art library and archives
- Teaching information literacy and visual literacy skills to art students through collections
- Creative students' relationship with online visual resources
- Artists and Librarians collaborating in creative education
Supporting Artistic Practice
- Artists' access to art libraries and their collections for research and inspiration
- Art libraries as studios and creative spaces
- Collaborating on creative research methodologies
- Art libraries, artists and community engagement
- Commissions and other forms of partnerships between libraries and artists
- Libraries platforming and promoting artists
Preserving artistic legacies
- Preserving artists' archives and libraries
- Enabling the exploration of new art historical narratives
- Sharing artistic legacies and cultural memory
- Supporting scholarship, research, publishing and dissemination
Presentation Lengths/Format
Abstracts of up to 200 words can be submitted for the following formats:
- Talks (20 minutes)
- Short talks (10 minutes)
- Workshops (up to 1 hour)
- Poster presentation (A1 size, portrait style, and professionally printed. Posters should not be mounted on a rigid backing. Expenses for the design, printing and transportation of the poster will be the responsibility of the presenter.)
Please use this form to send us your details and submit your proposed contribution: Application form
Hybrid event
The ARLIS UK & Ireland Conference 2025 will be a hybrid event, with in-person talks streamed for online viewing. While we anticipate that most speakers will deliver in-person, we will consider proposals from speakers who may need to present remotely for accessibility or financial reasons.
Equality and Diversity
To create a rich and engaging conference, we are seeking presenters who bring a variety of perspectives and backgrounds. We welcome submissions from people who experience barriers within society, including but not limited to, barriers around ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, class, neurodiversity and disability. For those presenters who require additional help to engage with the event, every possible effort will be made to support them in their experience of the conference.
Submission deadline
Please send us your proposal by 12am GMT, Sunday 9 March 2025.
We will let you know whether your proposal has been accepted by Friday 28 March 2025.
Bursaries
ARLIS UK & Ireland will be offering a limited number of bursaries to enable contributors to join us in person. Further details will be announced in the coming weeks.
Please send your questions to arlisconference25@gmail.com
Conference website: https://arlis.net/conferences/
We look forward to hearing from you!
With best wishes from,
The ARLIS UK & Ireland Conference Working Party 2025