Publishing Photography

University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal / 19 – 21  November, 2025
Submissions deadline 30th May

The International Conference on Photography Studies will be held from November 19 to 21, 2025, at Colégio dos Jesuítas, University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal, on the theme Publishing Photography: materialities, narratives, assemblages.

This edition, an initiative of the Regional Secretary of Economy, Tourism and Culture, ICNOVA—NOVA Institute of Communication, and the University of Madeira, aims to explore different expressions, strategies, and media for publishing photography. The event will address the diverse challenges and dimensions of publishing photography, focusing on works that engage distinct materialities, narratives, and forms of assemblage to resist the reified modes of image practices.

Publishing Photography: materialities, narratives, assemblages

With the interplay between digital images and the internet, the democratisation that photography embodied when it first emerged in the 19th century has unfolded exponentially. This democratisation was deepened with the almost universal reach of contemporary photographic practice – primarily through mobile phones – and with the possibility of anyone being the publisher of their own photographs and videos. Never before in photography’s history has its production and publication been so abundant, with the processes of creation and dissemination now nearly contiguous, often streamlined by automatic editing options in integrated software and digital platforms. Over the years, social media has gradually evolved into more visually content-reliant platforms, depending increasingly on images rather than text. These platforms have become evident and potent contemporary forms of publishing photography and have contributed to disseminating a normative image practice, the visibility of which relies on algorithms with logics and criteria often invisible and unknown to viewers. In this context, images function within a competitive regime of visibility and transience, constantly vying for our attention, engagement, and validation as they seek to assert themselves within a networked environment.
In an era when digital media appear more accessible, socially engaging, and less costly in terms of making images available than traditional editorial forms of photographic dissemination, such as the printed press or books, the constant flow of similar, spectacularly redundant images that reach us daily produces an effect of hyperstimulation and numbness, risking the obliteration of the possibility for a poetic relationship with images.

Alternative strategies for creating and circulating photographic images have emerged in parallel with, or even in reaction to, this media sphere. For instance, online editorial experiments explore digital aesthetics that challenge and often critique stereotypical ‘Instagrammed’ images and the seriality of slideshow visualisation modes, frequently exposing the normative apparatus within which images operate today.

Alongside these digital experiments, more traditional forms of publishing and circulating photography—diverse in nature but often tangible—have existed throughout history. Some have since been integrated into archival collections, yet they continue to circulate today as digital images, acquiring new functions and meanings in the process. Examples include «cartes de visite», stereocards, photo albums, catalogues, and various forms of the illustrated press, ranging from newspapers and magazines to photo-romans, alternative zines, and artist books—each offering unique ways of engaging with and disseminating photographic images.

Among these, the printed photo book stands out today as a particular artistic practice, poetic medium, and intermedial example of publishing photography. The artist’s book explores specific and often mixed materialities and enjoys particular vitality worldwide, with multiple authors offering a wide range of perspectives, varying editions and formats, and often relying on digital printing and diffusion strategies. It stands as a form of resistance to the dematerialisation of art by providing a tangible, unique, and intense experience with photography.

Program

to be announced

Keynotes

to be announced

Submissions

Call for proposals

We invite submissions that address the diverse challenges and dimensions of publishing photography, focusing on works that engage distinct materialities, narratives, and forms of assemblage as a means of resisting reified image practices.

Proposals for oral presentations, artistic research workshops, performance presentations, and other forms of expression are welcomed in Portuguese, English, or Spanish, with a duration not exceeding 20 minutes, on the following themes, among others:

– The disseminated printed photographic image (i.e. illustrated press, books, magazines);
– Practices of publishing as strategies of resistance: the photo-book as a poetic medium;
– Non-canonical or hybrid formats: the relationship between printed images and digital environments;
– Established narratives and peripheral visualities;
– Archival orders: publishing as an unarchival gesture;
– Art, activism and public histories;
– Collaborative projects: shared authorships;
– Ecological processes in the edition of images;
– Images as data streams: ubiquity and the poetics of montage.

Guidelines

– We invite proposals for 20-minute presentations to be submitted with:

a) The name of the author with current affiliation, contact details (email and mobile), and a short biographical note (around 200 words). This should be sent in a separate document.

The two documents (abstract, contact details and bio) should be sent to photographyconference@fcsh.unl.pt in Word format, no later than 30th May 2025.

Notification of acceptance will be sent by 30th June 2025.

Other details

– Communications in Portuguese, English, and Spanish languages are accepted.
– Artistic/hybrid presentations should be a maximum of 20 minutes and include audiovisual, sound, or performative actions. These proposals might be accompanied by a 3-4 minute short excerpt or an illustrated description, together with the abstract, keywords, and bibliographical references if needed. In all cases, a biographical note should be sent (around 200 words).
– Sessions will be organised based on thematic affinities, regardless of their nature (academic/artistic/hybrid); all papers will be considered equally valid academic outputs.
– Accepted proposals will be validated through registration, but no fees shall be applied.
– Participation in the conference is exclusively in-person.

Questions may be sent to photographyconference@fcsh.unl.pt

Attending

Registration

more info soon

Conference Venue

Colégio dos Jesuítas
Address: Rua dos Ferreiros Estrada, 9000-082 Funchal
Contacts: + 351291 705 060

Nearby Hotels and Hostels

‍Hotel do Carmo – 3 estrelas
Address: Travessa do Rego, 10 9050-018 Funchal
Contacts: + 351 291 201 240 / reservas@hoteldocarmomadeira.com

Hotel do Centro -3 estrelas
Address: Rua do Carmo, 20/22 – 9050-019 Funchal
Contacts: +351 291 200 510 / hoteldocentro@netmadeira.com

Hotel Orquídea – 3 estrelas
Address: Rua dos Netos 69 – 71 9000-084 Funchal
Contacts: +351 291 200 120

Hotel Madeira – 3estrelas
Address: Rua Ivens, nº 21, 9000-046 Funchal
Contacts: + 351 291 230 071 / reservas@hotelmadeira.com

Jaca Hostel  Funchal – AL
Address: Rua Dos Ferreiros, 9000-082 Funchal
Contacts: +351 926 958 673 / heythere@jacahostel.com

Nearby Restaurants

Museu Café & Petisco
Address: Praca do Município 85, 9000-043 Funchal
Contacts: +351 291 620 510 

Tipografia
Address: R. das Pretas 8, 9000-049 Funchal
Contacts: +351 291 200 100 

Brunch Club
Address: R. do BomJesus 6, 9050-028
Funchal
Contacts:+351 291 220 651 

Plano D
Address: R. das Hortas n.º 11 R/C, 1º e 4º Andar, 9050-024 Funchal
Contacts: +351 291 234 273 

Mania da Cozinha
Address: Rua de São Pedro 9,
9000-219 Funchal
Contacts: +351 291 226 333  

Ateneu Café
Adress: R. dos Netos 42,
9000-084 Funchal
Contacts: +351 964 514 818

Olivia
Address: Rua dos Tanoeiros 37 37,
9000-057 Funchal
Contacts: +351 964 088 858

Other Locations

Museu de Fotografia da Madeira – Atelier Vicente’s
Address: Rua da Carreira 43, 9000-042 Funchal
Contacts:  291 145 325 / mfm-avicentes@madeira.gov.pt 

Madeira Archives and Library (ABM)
‍Address: Caminho dos Álamos 35, 9020-064 Funchal
Contacts: 291 145 310

Committees

Organising Committee

Ana Gandum –  ICNOVA Institute of Communication of Nova University / Regional Directorate for Archives, Libraries and Book (DRABL)
Ângela Berlinde – CICANT, Centre for Research in Applied Communication, Culture, and New Technologies
Rita Rodrigues – Regional Directorate of Culture (DRC)
Teresa Mendes Flores –  ICNOVA Institute of Communication of Nova University
Vitor Magalhães – University of Madeira


Graphic Design & Communication

Logo – Sandra Camacho, ICNOVA
Poster –Nathalia Rech, ICNOVA
Website – Patrícia Contreiras, ICNOVA
Communication – Bárbara Bergamaschi Novaes, ICNOVA

Scientific Committee

Aida Castro, ICNOVA, Portugal
Ana Gandum, ICNOVA e DRABL, Portugal
Ana Mauad, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brasil
Ângela Berlinde, CICANT, Portugal
Carla Baptista, ICNOVA, Portugal
Carlos Valente, University of Madeira, Portugal
Emília Tavares, MNAC – Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea, Portugal
Filippo De Tomasi, ICNOVA, Portugal
Isabel Stein, ICNOVA, Portugal
Lorena Travassos, ICNOVA, Portugal
Luís Mendonça, ICNOVA, Portugal
Maria Teresa Cruz, ICNOVA, Portugal
Maura Grimaldi, ICNOVA, Portugal
Philippe Dubois, Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris 3, França
Rita Rodrigues, DRC, Portugal
Romy Castro, ICNOVA, Portugal
Rony Maltz, Publisher at {Lp} press, Brazil
Sandra Camacho, ICNOVA, Portugal
Soraya Vasconcelos, CICANT, Portugal
Teresa Mendes Flores, ICNOVA, Portugal
Vitor Magalhães, Universidade da Madeira, Portugal

About

The International Conference of Photography Studies (ICPS) takes place every two years in Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal. The event brings together scholars, artists, curators, archivists, and conservators of photography, media researchers, journalists, and others interested in the critical practice and reflection on the world of photography and the photographic, its production, proliferation, and aesthetic, social, and political significance.

Contemporary culture is indelibly marked by the proliferation of the practice and use of photographs, but its importance, as a practice and field of study, took time to be recognised by academia and other spheres of social legitimation. Perhaps due to its popularity, it often became invisible when compared to other media, such as cinema, for example (the 7th art!). This disconnect between a massive cultural presence and a marginal presence in academia and even in the arts has been mitigated over the years, particularly since the end of the last century, but it remains important to continue this path of affirmation, promoting the study and critical thinking about and with photography, which are the goals of this conference series. 

The ICPS conference series originated from an initial edition on “Photography and Travel,” organised in 2019 by Emília Tavares and Margarida Medeiros on the occasion of the requalification and reopening to the public of the Madeira Photography Museum – Atelier Vicente’s (MFM-AV) in Funchal. This moment mobilised a working group composed of photography researchers from NOVA Communication Institute at the Nova University of Lisbon, researchers from the University of Madeira – its host institution – and the Regional Directorate of Culture, with which the MFM-AV is integrated, an institution that is itself affiliated with the Regional Secretariat of Economy, Tourism, and Culture. Following a second edition in 2021 on “Photography and History,” this interinstitutional collaboration was formalised for the organisation of what is now designated the International Conference of Photography Studies, which took place in the 2023 edition, dedicated to the theme “Photography and Place.”

Conceived through thematic editions that promote the questioning of contemporary issues through the lenses of photography, the ICPS will, from 2025 onwards, also have the collaboration of the Regional Directorate of Archives, Libraries, and Book, responding to the need for the valorisation of photographic heritages considered peripheral.

In Memoriam
This conference is dedicated to the memory of Margarida Medeiros (1957-2024), teacher and researcher, who brought together a group of people passionate about photography, its ontologies, histories, and practices, contributing with her intelligence, sensitivity, and joy to the affirmation of this field of studies in Portugal.

Contacts

photographyconference@fcsh.unl.pt

Organisation