Report on ICAM17 Conference, Montreal and New York 2014
Valeria Carullo, Photographs Curator, RIBA British Architectural Library
The ICAM17 conference certainly lived up to my expectations. I had never attended a conference on such a scale before and I found the programme very intense but also very stimulating. For those of us coming from a different time zone it was perhaps a bit demanding at first to be plunged into such a packed programme of sessions, visits and events – but of course we all wanted to make the most of the experience so we embraced it in good spirits.
I found all the sessions extremely interesting, especially the one on emerging institutions - which I found very instructive as I did not know much about what is happening in Asia or Africa - and the one on collaborations between institutions - which is something I truly believe in and have been trying to pursue in the last few years.In this regard, the importance of collaborations was also a clear outcome of the session on archiving born-digital material. This is one huge challenge to which we do not seem to have proper answers yet and the only way forward is to exchange information and results. One small change I would suggest to the format of the sessions is to give a bit more consideration to first time attendees, who sometimes feel they are suddenly part of a ‘club’ where most people know each other and make references to a shared history that the ‘newbies’ have no knowledge of. For this reason it would be useful if, during discussions, people introduced themselves before speaking and did not assume everybody knows them.
The visits were well organised and truly fascinating. I had been to both Montreal and New York before but never visited institutions such as the New York Historical Society, or listened to a brilliant talk on the balcony of the MoMA Library. Being able to see one of the Habitat 67 apartments was another highlight, but I enjoyed every single visit, not least the walking tour in Lower Harlem which allowed us, again, to learn so much about architecture in the area, especially by visiting two beautiful homes. These visits are on the whole a fantastic addition to the programme and allow further interaction among the delegates.
This interaction was another essential element of the conference. As I was hoping and expecting, attending it allowed me to meet other professionals in my field and establish contacts that I am sure will lead to collaborations at various levels and useful exchange of information and experience. This would have simply not been possible ii I had not been at ICAM.
I sincerely hope this is for me the beginning of a regular attendance to the ICAM conferences. I will follow with interest the development of the newly formed ICAMUKI , and will try to give my input in the formulation of future sessions. I also hope to have the opportunity to contribute papers to some of these sessions, starting perhaps with ICAM18 in Ljubljana, which might include a session on architecture and photography / film.
I am extremely grateful to ICAM for giving me the grant covering the conference fees and therefore allowing me to take part in an event that I am sure will be very beneficial to me as a professional, and consequently to the British Architectural Library. I am also planning to share as much as possible of my experience with my colleagues, both informally (which I have already been doing) and through a more formal presentation.
17 December 2014