MAGICA project (EN) - Call for Papers and Posters

Call for Papers and Posters

International Conference on the
Magic Lantern: Study, Safeguard, Uses and Reuses

2-4 April 2025

Science Museum of the University of Coimbra

EXTENDED DEADLINE

December 16, 2024

The magic lantern is considered the first optical instrument for the projection of moving images combined with sounds and music, playing a pivotal role in entertainment, education, and cultural exchange worldwide. As a unique convergence of science, art, and technology, the magic lantern has made a significant impact on various disciplines.

Extensive collections of hand-painted magic lantern slides are preserved in libraries and museums, lacking knowledge of their production, use and better preservation strategies. The project MAGICA is the first systematic and comprehensive study on the relation between the tangible and intangible facets of the art of painting magic lantern glass slides and its use at science academies and entertainment venues in the 19th-century Portuguese context. Building upon the research from the MAGICA project, this conference aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration both within Portugal and internationally, enhancing our understanding of magic lantern objects, imagery and practices of different fields.

We invite contributions from researchers across various disciplines, including art history, media archaeology, conservation, musicology, theatre studies, performance studies, iconography, history of science and technology, museum studies, digital humanities, and fine arts, addressing the following topics:

The magic lantern in private collections and museums;
Production materials and techniques of hand-painted magic lantern slides;
Methodologies of preservation/conservation (archive, inventorying, digitization, forms of display, preventive, interventive);
The magic lantern and academia (projection and knowledge transfer);
The magic lantern and performance (sound and music in magic lantern performances, the magic lantern in the theatre, the audiovisual imagery of the magic lantern and its influence in féeries and mágicas);
The animation of the magic lantern (the mechanical animation of slides, sequential art, the survival of magic lantern tropes and literary repertoire, such as fairytales and children’s literature, in animated cartoons);
The use of the magic lantern in political propaganda and evangelization;
Contemporary use and reuse of the magic lantern;
Other topics related to the magic lantern.

Hosted at the Museu da Ciência da Universidade de Coimbra (Science Museum of the University of Coimbra), Portugal, from 02-04 April 2025, the conference will feature an exciting program presenting the outcomes of the MAGICA project, including invited lectures, a magic lantern performance and visits to the exhibitions at the Science Museum of the University of Coimbra (MCUC) and the National Museum of Natural History and Science (MUHNAC), as well as the National Archive of Moving Images (ANIM) of the Cinemateca Portuguesa – Museu do Cinema (Portuguese Cinematheque – Museum of Cinema).

We invite all researchers engaging with the magic lantern to submit abstracts up to 300 words in English by email to magica@fct.unl.pt. The proposal, in Docx format, must include the title, the author(s) name(s), institutional affiliation, contact information and the main body of the abstract. While a short list of references may be included, it is not required. Please also indicate whether you prefer to deliver an oral or poster presentation.

The submission deadline is Monday, December 16, 2024, and acceptance notifications will be sent in late January 2025.

The papers presented will be published in digital format on the MAGICA website.

The conference is free of charge with mandatory registration through email to magica@fct.unl.pt.

For further information, please contact magica@fct.unl.pt.

Scientific Committee:

Márcia Vilarigues

Luísa Cymbron

Vanessa Otero

Ana Isabel Vasconcelos

Ana David Mendes

Paula Magalhães

Frank Kessler