Posted by Rosie Jennings on May 14th, 2025.
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Impressionist Futures
Workshops: Friday 7 November (online), Wednesday 12–Friday 14 November (in-person: venues across Southern California, United States)
Deadline to apply: Sunday 15 June 2025
What have we learned about impressionism over this last year, with all its celebrations of impressionism at 150? Where do we, who work and write on this art, wish to take our specialism? What is our vision, individually and collectively, for its future?
The Workshop
Workshopping Future Directions in Impressionism (UCL, November 2024) brought together over forty art historians, curators, market specialists, and students from the UK, US, Europe, Middle East, and East Asia to collaboratively reflect on the pasts and futures of Impressionism studies. We are delighted to share that Workshopping Future Directions in Impressionism will become an annual event. Starting with an online day on 7 November, the next instalment will take place in person from 12–14 November 2025 in Southern California. Events will be distributed across the Los Angeles area: the Getty Research Institute, Caltech, and Norton Simon Museum.
On 12 November, “Workshopping Future Directions in Impressionism 2.0” participants will be invited to review select materials at the Getty Research Institute Special Collections (GRI). The GRI provides unparalleled opportunities to consult important archives, manuscripts, and rare books. Participation in this event will be limited. Those without past fellowships or affiliation at the GRI will be prioritized.
On 13 November, “Workshopping Future Directions in Impressionism 2.0” participants will move to Caltech. Participants will be invited to present new research in a series of lightning talks or to participate in a themed roundtable discussion.
On 14 November, we will move to the Norton Simon Museum. Participants will be invited to present new research as lightning talks or to partner with a scholar/student to lead a discussion of an artwork in the Norton Simon permanent collection. Those interested in leading an in-gallery discussion should select this option in the application form.
Join Us
We welcome all colleagues working on impressionism — in any discipline and at any career stage — to share and critically reflect on their current research, collectively investigate new possibilities, establish and expand their professional networks, and formulate new, collaborative projects to generate impact. Our programme will include a range of activities which prioritise discussion & everyone in attendance is warmly invited to actively participate. In addition, we invite proposals for individual or collaborative presentations:
- Lightning talks on new research (7 minutes, plus extended discussion time)
- Archive-based presentations (up to 30 minutes, in a format of your choice, exploring an aspect of the GRI’s Special Collections)
- Gallery-based presentations (either give a 7 minute artwork presentation, or lead a guided close looking discussion, about an artwork currently on exhibit in the Norton Simon museum)
Amongst others, possible topics for presentations and discussions will include:
- Gender and Power. What is the future of feminist art histories of the nineteenth century? What can queer histories and methodologies contribute to the study of impressionism?
- Relevance and Reception. What is the relevance of impressionism to us now? Beyond blockbuster exhibitions and popular appeal, what importance does impressionism still hold for all subfields?
- Pedagogy. What techniques and methodologies make teaching impressionism most effective today? How can we expand the audience for our work in order to reach a broader public? What professional constraints and possibilities impact our teaching and scholarship? How do we teach global histories of impressionism?
- The Planet. How do global, planetary, and ecocritical approaches allow for new insights into impressionism and its relevance to the present? How do we account for the migration and mobilization of impressionism outside France? How do we look at impressionism from perspectives inside and outside Europe?
- Language. How does the way we write about impressionism matter? What is the role of specific languages, language politics, translation, critical editing, and art writing in the reception and dissemination of impressionism historically and still today?
- Impressionist objects. What does the matter of impressionism matter? What do impressionist pictures want from us? How do impressionist artworks actively shape our world?
We underscore, however, that topics to be included in this workshop will be driven by the workshop’s participants. We welcome new ideas and new voices.
Submit your paper
If you wish to attend, please complete this short application form by 15 June. All those who submit an application will be informed of a decision no later than 1 July. While we cannot offer support for travel expenses, there is no conference fee.
We are grateful for the support of Caltech, the Getty Research Institute, the Norton Simon Museum, and North Carolina State University.
Please email questions to [email protected].
Organised by Alexis Clark (North Carolina State University), Allison Deutsch (Birkbeck, University of London), Claire Moran (Queen’s University Belfast), Samuel Raybone (Aberystwyth University).
