34th International Panorama Council Conference

The World at a Glance

Panoramic and Peep Technologies

hosted by the

Early Visual Media Lab—CICANT and the Art History Institute, IHA, NOVA-FCSH/IN2PAST

at

Lusófona University of Lisbon

and

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Lisbon, Portugal | July 2–4, 2025

CONFERENCE INFORMATION

The International Panorama Council together with Lusófona University Early Visual Media Lab and the Art History Institute (IHA, NOVA-FCSH/IN2PAST) organize the next IPC conference in Lisbon under the theme “The World at a Glance. Panoramic and Peep Technologies.” This recasting of Robert Barker’s original title for his invention (1787), “Nature at a Glance” (in French, “La Nature à Coup d’ Oeil”), will explore the modern desire to experience the world visually through panoramic or peep technologies and to embark in virtual travels. Panoramas and panoramic imagery shared these early immersive experiences with (itinerant) peepshows, cosmoramas, neoramas, and, among others, in the domestic space, zograscopes, stereoscopic photography, graphoscopes and polyoramas. These theatres of visuality were key achievements in art, education, and science, fostering visual curiosity and new skills of looking. Either engaging a distant or a proximate gaze, requiring lenses or a specific vantage point on a viewing platform, these technologies made the world in all its aspects admirable and available at a glance. In addition to challenging the visual sensorium, panoramic and peep technologies often intersected and mobilized a synesthetic universe. By exploring their coexistence and intermediality, new light will be shed on the visual cultures and worldviews they promoted.

Calendar

• February 10—Call for papers deadline
• February 28—Speaker Invitations Sent
• March 21—Speaker Registration/Confirmation of attendance
• March 28—General Registration Opens
• May 23—General Registration Closes
• July 02—Conference Opens
• July 04—Conference Closes
• July 05—Post-Conference Tour

Conference Program

The conference 02 July–04 July includes three keynote speakers, Yadegar Asisi, Denis Pellerin and Tom Gunning, within a rich program of speakers, workshops and roundtables, plus a guided tour of the exhibition The Cosmorama in Lisbon. Virtual Traveling in the 19th Century, at the Portuguese Cinematheque.

The conference is preceded by an optional drawing workshop with renowned panorama artist Yadegar Asisi, and followed by an optional post-conference tour. 

Day 0 | Tuesday, 01 July, 9:00–19:30 

• 09:30–16:00 Drawing Workshop with Yadegar Asisi. Drawing as a Universal Language—Connecting People and Perspectives 
• 17:30–19:30 IPC Executive Board Meeting

Day 1 | Wednesday, 02 July, 14:00–21:00

• 14.30–15.00 Opening Session
• 15.00–16.15 Keynote Lecture by Yadegar Asisi
• 16.15–16.45 Coffee Break
• 16.45–18.30 Conference Session
• 18.30–19.30 Keynote Lecture by Denis Pellerin,
• 19:30–20:00 3D Conference session
• Conference Dinner

Day 2 | Thursday, 03 July, 09:15–18:00

• 09.15–10.35 Conference Session
• 10.35–11.00 Coffee Break
• 11.00–12.45 Conference Session
• 12.45–14.00 Lunch
• 14.00–15.45 Conference Session
• 15.45–17.00 Roundtable
• 17.00–17.20 Coffee Break
• 17.20–18.30 Keynote Lecture by Tom Gunning
• 18.30- 20.00 Exhibition Tour (Group A)
• Free evening (dinner on your own)

Day 3 | Friday, 04 July, 09:15–22:00

• 09.15–10.35 Parallel Conference Sessions
• 10.35–11.00 Coffee Break
• 11.00–12.45 Parallel Conference Sessions
• 12.45–14.00 Lunch
• 14.00–15.45 Parallel Conference Sessions
• 15.45–16.15 Coffee Break
• 16.30–18.00 IPC General Assembly
• 18.15- 20.00 Exhibition Tour (Group B)
• Conference Dinner

OPTIONAL Day 4 | Saturday, 05 July Post-Conference Tour

Drawing Workshop—Tuesday, 01 July 

Drawing as a Universal Language—Connecting People and Perspectives with Yadegar Asisi

Location: Lusófona University and outdoor location in Lisbon

Registration: Places are limited and not included with the Conference Registration. Drawing Workshop Registration opens on March 28th and a link will be provided here.

Drawing is more than a creative technique—it is a medium to discover the world and to enter into dialogue with others. In this hands-on workshop with renowned artist Yadegar Asisi, we will attempt to position and deepen our understanding of the importance of drawing in one day. We will explore drawing as a universal language that expands perspectives and connects people.

Through specific exercises, we will sharpen our perception, learn to grasp spaces and perspectives in a new way and experience how drawing can build bridges between individuals and cultures. The workshop offers a platform to experience and understand the transformative power of drawing.

The prerequisite for participation is a basic knowledge of drawing. This workshop invites you to open up new worlds togethaces are limited

Keynote Speakers

Yadegar Asisi—Wednesday, 02 July

Keynote Lecture: The Analog Panorama in Times of New Technological Possibilities

Denis Pellerin—Wednesday, 02 July

Keynote Lecture: The World at War at a Glance and In-Depth

Presentation includes 3D viewing; 3D glasses provided. 

Denis Pellerin is a photo historian with a passion for stereo photography. He has been researching and learning about the history of stereoscopy for over 40 years and has written a dozen books and over sixty articles on his pet subject, both in French and English. Since 2012, Pellerin has been the curator of Dr. Brian May’s extensive collection of stereo photographs, now a charity. Dr. May and Pellerin have co-authored four books together. They are working on more publications while also being deeply involved in the various activities of the London Stereoscopic Company, re-created by Dr. May in 2006. Denis has been the director of the said company since September 2015. Over the past few years, he has given over a hundred online or face-to-face 3-D talks on different aspects of Victorian stereo photography. He has recently started delving into the use of stereoscopy during both world wars.

Tom Gunning—Friday, 04 July

Keynote Lecture: An Eye Propelled by New Technology: Panoramas and the Frame in Motion

Tom Gunning works on problems of film style and interpretation, film history and film culture. His published work (over two hundred publications) has concentrated on early cinema (from its origins to the WW I) as well as on the culture of modernity from which cinema arose (relating it to still photography, stage melodrama, magic lantern shows, as well as wider cultural concerns such as the tracking of criminals, the World Expositions, and Spiritualism). His concept of the “cinema of attractions” has tried to relate the development of cinema to other forces than storytelling, such as new experiences of space and time in modernity, and an emerging modern visual culture. His book D.W. Griffith and the Origins of American Narrative Film traces the ways film style interacted with new economic structures in the early American film industry and with new tasks of storytelling. His book The Films of Fritz Lang: Allegories of Vison and Modernity deals with the systematic nature of the director’s oeuvre over his whole career. He has written on the Avant-Garde film, both in its European pre-World War I manifestations and the American Avant-Garde film up to the present day. He has also written on genre in Hollywood cinema and on the relation between cinema and technology. The issues of film culture, the historical factors of exhibition and criticism and spectator’s experience throughout film history are recurrent themes in his work. An anthology of his essays The Attractions of the Moving Image will be published by the University of Chicago Press in April of 2025.

Exhibition Tour—Thursday, 03 July

The Cosmorama in Lisbon. Virtual Traveling in the 19th Century

This next IPC conference in Lisbon will include a guided visit to the exhibition, The Cosmorama in Lisbon. Virtual Traveling in the 19th Century, held at the Portuguese Cinematheque. Curated by the research project "Curiositas. Peeping Before Virtual Reality," this exhibition will draw on extensive historical research that unearthed the cultural history of the European Cosmoramas. It will include physical and virtual recreations of cosmorama rooms, showcasing Panorama and Cosmorama artists such as Hubert Sattler from Salzburg.

Optional Post-Conference Tour—Saturday, 05 July

The Post-Conference Tour on July 5 will include a trip on a historic boat along the Tagus River to explore the vantage points of Barker’s Panorama Views of Lisbon (1812–1813), a guided visit to panoramic heritage in Portuguese national museums, and a sunset dinner at Casa da Cerca, in Almada, on the south bank of the River Tagus.

Tour Program

• 09:15 Bus departure from Gulbenkian (Avenida de Berna)
• 10:00 Visit to the World War I panoramic painting ’The Surrender’ by Adriano Sousa Lopes (Portuguese official draughtsman at the Battle of La Lys).
• 11:30 Visit to the 17th-century tile panel showcasing a panoramic view of Lisbon at the National Tile Museum.
• 12:30 Lunch near the Alcântara docks.
• 15:00 Historic boat tour on the River Tagus.
• 17:00 Bus departure to Almada.
• 18:00 Visit to Casa da Cerca to enjoy the view over Lisbon and a sunset dinner.
• 20:00 Bus departure to Gulbenkian.

Conference venues

How to get there –

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Av. De Berna 45A, 1067-001 Lisboa

Google-map
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Map

Lusófona University

Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisboa

Google-map
Universidade Lusófona campus map

TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION

Flight information

Fly to Lisbon. Metro connections are available from the airport to both conference venues (ticket price per trip – €2). The journey from the airport to the hotel area takes approximately 25 minutes. Check the website for more information.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is within walking distance of the recommended hotels.

Metro station: São Sebastião (blue and red line); Praça de Espanha (blue line)
Lusófona University is accessible by bus and metro.

Metro Station: Campo Grande (green and yellow line)

Hotels

Hotels are not included in the registration fee. Conference participants are free to arrange their accommodation as they see fit. Two hotels are recommended within walking distance of the main conference venue.

Hotel Açores Lisboa (4 stars)

Av. Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro 3, 1070-060 Lisboa 

WEB https://www.bensaudehotels.com/en

email hotelacoreslisboa@bhc.pt

Google-map 600m — 8 min walk on foot to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. 

Reservations must be made through their website (select Hotel Açores Lisboa): https://www.bensaudehotels.com/ Please use the code IPC2025 to get a 10% discount on the available room charges Early booking is recommended as July is high season.

Hotel Príncipe Lisboa (3 stars)

Av. Duque de Ávila 201, 1050-082 Lisboa

WEB https://www.hotelprincipelisboa.com/en/

email reservas@hotelprincipelisboa.com

Google-map 450m — 5 min walk on foot to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. 

Reservations must be made via email: reservas@hotelprincipelisboa.com
Please mention the conference when booking. This hotel has 15 pre-booked rooms with a fixed rate. The deadline to access these rates is April 2nd.

Fixed rates (breakfast included) Single room 100€; Twin room 130€; Triple room 180€.

Questions about the Conference?

The conference is co-organized by the International Panorama Council, the Early Visual Media Lab and the Art History Institute (IHA, NOVA-FCSH/IN2PAST). For additional information or questions, reach out to the IPC General Secretary by email secretariat@panoramacouncil.org