The British and Irish Sound Archives organising committee is pleased to announce that the BISA Conference for 2020 will be held virtually this year, on Friday 27th November.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Old Sounds, New Media: the Creative and Ethical Use of Archive Recordings”.

We hope this will be an opportunity to explore the applications of archival sound recordings in the creative fields and to discuss the practicalities of finding, understanding and using sounds in an ethical way.

We particularly welcome proposals from those engaged in the creative arts and in the broadcast and film-making industries, but also from those working in the field of archiving. Presentations can include themes such as:

• Creative reuse and re-imagining of archive materials
• Ethical issues affecting the reuse of archive recordings
• Copyright and permissions, including rights clearance considerations for the reuse of archival material
• Technical challenges in the reuse and publication of archival sound recordings
• Misappropriation and reappropriation of audio heritage and the decolonisation of collections
• Any other issues

As this year’s conference will be virtual, there is an opportunity to submit pre-recorded video materials instead of a ‘live’ presentation. These might include creative works, virtual tours, promotional materials, collection items, or pre-recorded papers.

Please send submissions to anna.bale@ucd.ie or Criostoir.MacCarthaigh@ucd.ie indicating:

• A description or abstract of the presentation you propose, in no more than 200 words
• The duration you would like to present for, either 10, 20, 30 or 40 minutes
• Whether you would prefer a pre-recorded or live presentation

In an extension of the original deadline, we now look forward to receiving proposals by Sunday 11 October.