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The theme for the 2023 AJIRN conference theme is Roads, Bridges, and Intersections. Broadly speaking, this theme asks participants to think about infrastructure: the systems put in place by individuals, communities, presenters, governments, funding groups, and other organizations, that enable artists to communicate, collaborate, and develop their careers. We hope that this theme will motivate discussions at the local, national, and global level over the practical challenges and possibilities associated with the current political and cultural economy. Importantly, this theme is intended to encourage critical perspectives that question established assumptions and attitudes, as well as words and music that reveal the transformative possibilities of a more inclusive network for jazz and improvised music – one that values and promotes the expressions of, and collaborations between, practitioners from diverse personal, social, and cultural backgrounds.

We welcome proposals for individual papers, performances, panel discussions, and mixed formats that engage this theme. We are planning for a hybrid conference with robust on-the-ground activities but also opportunities for remote participation.

Proposals that connect with one or more of the following sub-themes are especially encouraged:

 

Roads

·       Access

·       Pathways into jazz/improvisation

·       Trajectories of creative practice

·       Experimentation: a road to new ideas

·       Technology:  Now and Future

 

Bridges

·       Intercultural exchange and cultural hybridity

·       Polystylism

·       Bridging the divide between practice and theory

                       

Intersections

·       Identities 

·       Intersectionality: Gender - Culture - Ableness 

·       Mind/Body relationship(s)

·       Creativities / Cognition

·       Collaboration

 

Places, spaces, and institutions

·       Boundaries

·       Governance

·       Community in Improvisation

·       Community Music

·       Jazz Scenes

·       Colonisation

·       Environment

·       Academia

 

Roadworks

·       Barriers to practice

·       Fixing problems in the improvisatory environments

·       Stop/Go: pathways to moving forward

·       Funding

·       Future proofing- fit for purpose/fit for practice

·       Collisions

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Submission Process

We are accepting research proposals for the following formats:

• 20-minute research presentations (10-minute Q&A)

• 20-minute lecture-recitals (10-minute Q&A)

• Curated special sessions.

• Panel discussions (format can be flexible, in consultation with the Program Committee)

• Other hybrid activities, including site-specific performances and happenings

 

Please submit (1) a proposal title, (2) 250-word paper abstract or performance proposal, and (3) a 50-word bio, all compiled as a single Word doc using the subject line ‘AJIRN 2023 Proposal’. In the body of your email, please indicate what kind of proposal you are submitting, the theme or sub-theme your proposal most clearly aligns with, and whether you expect to attend in person or virtually.

(For all performances, please send a tech sheet and stage plan) 

Send abstracts to AJIRN-submissions@unimelb.edu.au by February 13 2023. 

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You can REGISTER here for the conference

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Key Note presenters:

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Simon Barker (PhD) is a lecturer in Drum Set and Rhythm Awareness at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. In addition to his numerous solo performances and recordings, Simon co-leads several internationally recognized collaborative ensembles including Chiri and Showa 44. Simon’s research interests include rhythmic process, rhythmic material generation, intersections between barefoot running and drumming, and regional drumming practices.

Ingrid Laubrock is an experimental saxophonist and composer, interested in exploring the borders between musical realms and creating multi-layered, dense and often evocative sound worlds. A prolific composer, Laubrock was named a “true visionary” by pianist and The Kennedy Center's artistic director Jason Moran, and a “fully committed saxophonist and visionary" by The New Yorker. Her composition Vogelfrei was nominated “one of the best 25 Classical tracks of 2018” by The New York Times.

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 Conference organising committee: 

• Andrea Keller -  (University of Melbourne) Co-chair

• Dylan Van der Schyff - (University of Melbourne) Co-chair

• Robert Burke (Monash University) - President

• Christopher Coady (Sydney Conservatorium)

• Roger Dean (Western Sydney University)

• Louise Denson (Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University)

• Bruce Johnson (University of Turku; University of Technology Sydney)

• Miranda Park (Monash University)

• Vanessa Tomlinson (Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University)

• Aleisha Ward (University of Auckland)