Full cfp here: https://www.sal.org.uk/2026/07/crd-cfp/

From its 18th-century origins to the present day, the Society of Antiquaries has been influential in recording, interpreting, and preserving the material past through graphic arts both at home and abroad. Our annual Collections and Research Day presents the work of early career researchers and collections professionals. This year the event is inspired by our extensive Prints and Drawings collection, which includes works on paper from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries, depicting artefacts, architecture, and landscapes. From early modern prints to contemporary graphic practices, the conference seeks to examine how images shape knowledge production and circulation, mediate encounters with lost and extant objects and buildings, and contribute to the study of the material past.

We welcome contributions from early career researchers and creative practitioners that engage with graphic media broadly defined, including (but not limited to) prints, drawings, book illustration, maps, architectural drawings, ephemera, comics, graphic novels, and digital graphic art. Papers may focus on objects in collections, archival materials, artistic practice, collecting, reception history, pedagogy, or contemporary creative responses to the material past.

We invite papers from all disciplines, time periods, and geographical areas, including art history, classics, archaeology, history, museum and heritage studies, literature, visual culture, anthropology, and practice-based research.

The conference will comprise papers by early career researchers, a keynote by an established researcher, and tours/workshops.

Please submit an abstract of approximately 200-250 words and a short biography (100-150 words) via this googleform by Wednesday 2 September 2026: https://forms.gle/jJBdtXwnLSYJGAgW6

The conference will take place at Burlington House, Piccadilly, and will be live-streamed and recorded online. We can reimburse expenses for travel and accommodation up to £100 per speaker. Papers will be 15 minutes, followed by Q&A.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr Anouska Lester and Dr Chiara Betti at events@sal.org.uk.