Artists as Adaptors: forms of adaptation in practice research - call for papers

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Artists as Adaptors: forms of adaptation in practice research

Lecture Recital Room, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Silk Street - Thursday 19 September 2024 from 10am (in-person only)
Deadline for proposals: Sunday 7 July 2024, 23:59
Notification of selection: Thursday 1 August 2024

This call is for…

  1. Artists who situate their work within a research context and practice researchers, including those in the fields of composition, drama, production arts, film, and literature.
  2. Researchers within the field of adaptation studies interested in exploring its relationship to practice research.

About the symposium

‘In the workings of the human imagination, adaptation is the norm, not the exception’ 

– Hutcheon & O’Flynn, 2012

‘Stories, great flapping ribbons of shaped space-time, have been blowing and uncoiling around the universe since the beginning of time. And they have evolved. The weakest have died and the strongest have survived and they have grown fat on the retelling.’

– Terry Pratchett, 1991

This day will provide a forum to explore the connections between adaptation studies and artistic practice, with a particular emphasis on how practice research enables insights from the perspective of artists themselves.

Adaptation studies is a field that began as a framework for discussing novel-to-film adaptations but has expanded to encompass a much wider array of interactions across art forms and media (including opera, video games, board games, and theme park rides) as well as topics such as intertextuality, intermediality, influence, and modes of audience engagement. 

Speakers do not necessarily have to be fully up to speed with adaptation studies, but should be willing to explore around the notion of adaptation through topics such as:

  • The creation of artwork that responds to source material of any kind (transmedially or not), including ekphrasis and mimesis
  • Adaptation as a creative process
  • Multimodality and announced relationships to other texts/artworks
  • (Interdisciplinary) collaboration and co-creation
  • Influence, allusion, intertextuality, parody
  • Technological adaptations

Call for proposals

Artists, practice-researchers, and adaptation researchers are invited to submit proposals for:

  • 20-minute papers with a further 10-minute Q&A
  • Performances, 10-20 minutes (could include poetry readings, film viewings, or compositions for live musicians*)
  • New ideas for practice research-sharing formats within a 20-30-minute slot

* For music performances, players are organised by the delegate (maximum of 5 players). A piano is provided, and a limited amount of percussion can be made available on request. Electronic elements are possible, but requirements need to be discussed with our AV team to establish if they are feasible. 

Submissions are accepted from individuals and groups. You can present finished work or works-in-progress. Please send the following in PDF form:

  • An abstract (250 words)
  • A biography (100 words)
  • Tech and logistical requirements for presentations (e.g. use of Powerpoint and audio) and performances
  • Any relevant documentation of practice (scores, text, links to audio / video, etc)

Due to room limitations, online presentations and remote attendance are not possible. Recordings of presentations may be made available after the day, depending on the permission of the speaker.

Proposals should be sent to: patrick.jones@gsmd.ac.uk, by Sunday 7 July 2024 23:59.

Supported by

Guildhall School of Music & Drama and The Leverhulme Trust, via a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship.

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