PhotoHistory/PhotoFuture conference at RIT

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More than 70 scholars from the United States and nine other countries will showcase their latest research about the past, present and future of photography at a three-day conference in Rochester. The PhotoHistory/PhotoFuture conference takes place April 20-22 and is sponsored and organized by RIT Press, Rochester Institute of Technology’s scholarly book publishing enterprise.

The conference program, revealed this week, features presentations by leading photography scholars from universities across the United States to the University of New South Wales in Australia, as well as talks by experts from prestigious institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, National Archives and Records Administration and the National Geographic Society. Topics to be discussed vary from early innovations during photography’s emergence in the 19^th century to photography’s role in social activism to new technologies revolutionizing the practice.

Bruce Austin, director of RIT Press and organizer of the conference, said that the reception for the first-time conference has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic and believes attendees will be impressed with the breadth and depth of the work to be showcased. “The conference has generated presentations of international interest in a broad range of subject matters and cross-disciplinary areas of photography,” said Austin.

In addition to scholarly presentations to be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Rochester, attendees will tour RIT’s Image Permanence Institute and several photography exhibitions on campus. The conference concludes with a photography-focused antique show and sale on April 22.

Registration is required and includes access to the conference’s two days of presentations, all events and receptions, and on-site exhibitors including Sunday’s Antiquarian Photography Show and Sale. Conference registration is $25 for students and $125 for the general public through Feb. 26.