VRA 2022: Call for Proposals

Call for ProposalsBaltimore 2022The Visual Resources Association’s 2022 Annual Conference will include both an online Pre-Conference and an In-Person Conference. The In-Person Conference will be held in Baltimore, Maryland from Tuesday, March 29th through Friday, April 1st, 2022 at the Royal Sonesta Harbor Court Baltimore. Presenting at the VRA Conference provides you with the opportunity to see how your ideas, research, work, and passion connect to those of other dedicated professionals while building networks and friendships in an open, collaborative environment.The VRA Executive Board is soliciting proposals for papers, sessions, special interest/user groups, workshops, posters sessions, and committee meetings for the 2022 program until Friday, September 24th. All proposals are welcome, and if you have other conference ideas or suggestions that do not fit the conference proposal form, please reach out to the Vice President for Conference Program, Christopher Sawula. The conference proposal form also includes a section where you can specify whether you are only interested in presenting online, in person, or either. Please note a call for Lightning Round presenters will go out in the fall/winter, so that we can better accommodate recent innovations and activities, as well as students and emerging professionals.

• A paper is an individual idea submission, which will be reviewed for possible grouping into a session. Your ideas, whether they come to us alone or in a group, are equally valued in the Board’s proposal and selection process.
• A session is a maximum 60-minute moderated panel, usually consisting of no more than 3 presenters each, speaking for 15 to 18 minutes, followed by a brief facilitated question and answer period. If you feel your session topic requires more time, consider dividing it into two sessions, consisting of a Part I and a Part II.
• A special interest/user group is a 60-minute informal, community-driven, facilitated group discussion on topics related to a specific segment of the VRA membership.
• A workshop is a 2-, 4-, or 8-hour workshop to develop skills and experience in the field of visual resources with hands-on activities.
• A poster session presents a topic both visually and through direct interaction with conference attendees. Posters can depict workplace initiatives, research in progress, and other topics of contemporary interest.

What should you propose?Past conference schedules can give you an idea of the range of topics presented in previous years; you may also wish to read through the list below of suggested topics compiled from the 2019 and 2021 post-conference survey responses to find inspiration. Please, do not be afraid to deviate and propose something new or highlight an area of concern that you feel has not been adequately addressed previously, as you may find new collaborators and colleagues. Moderators may put out calls for presenters within a proposed topic before or after the submission of a proposal. The VRA Executive Board will be looking for articulate and concise submissions with lists of presenters, but submissions without presenter lists are encouraged as well.Click here to access the conference proposal form.Suggested topics:

• Coding (PHP, Python, SQL, etc.)
• Community outreach
• Copyright/Intellectual property
• Digital asset management, digital curation, digital preservation, etc.
• Digitization (workflows, digital capture and imaging technologies)
• Digital scholarship and digital humanities
• Diversity, equity, inclusion, cultural competencies, social justice
• Project management (communication, grant writing, prioritization, leadership, etc.)
• Linked data
• Materials/Objects collections
• Metadata/Cataloging ethics (decolonizing vocabularies, radical cataloging)
• Storytelling and oral history
• Technologies (GIS and mapping, 3D imaging, etc.)
• Tools: open source, evolution, future trends
• Workplace cultures and professional transitions (academic departments, libraries, cultural heritage institutions, archives, corporate, etc.)

The Equitable Action Committee (EAC) will be available to assist in providing guidance for annual conference session organizers and all presenters. Accepted organizers and presenters will be invited to consult the EAC to incorporate equity and inclusion best practices. Depending on the extent of support requested, the EAC will be able to provide one-on-one consultations to evaluate and discuss specific aspects of organizers’ in-progress plans. Discussions can involve (but are not limited to): assessing inclusivity in panelists and perspectives; identifying gaps in accessibility; addressing concerns about contentious topics; and directing organizers, moderators, and speakers to additional resources. This initiative will help promote VRA’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as create a more welcoming space for civil and critical engagement at the annual conference.Please contact the Vice President for Conference Program, Christopher Sawula at vpcp@vraweb.org with any questions or concerns.Again, the proposal deadline is Friday, September 24th, 2021. Click here to access the conference proposal form.We look forward to hearing your ideas!Christopher SawulaVice President for Conference ProgramVisual Resources Associationvpcp@vraweb.org