NIME 2022 (and later)

The Steering Committee has sent out a call for hosting NIME 2022 (and beyond):

Nobody knows what the future will bring, but it is quite sure that future NIME conferences will be different from previous ones. NIME 2020 was fully online, 2021 is planned as hybrid (physical+online). The Steering Committee is particularly interested in exploring a hub-based conference format in 2022.

Previous conferences have usually been hosted by one institution (or a few geographically close ones). To succeed with a hub-based conference format, we would need to think differently about the organization. We are particularly encouraging collaboration between individuals and/or institutions around the world.

The creative and technologically-savvy NIME community is particularly well suited to come up with novel conference concepts. Please get in touch if you are interested in hosting!

Deadline for formal proposals: 15 January 2021

Potential hosts can e-mail the SC directly. In this thread, it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on how future conferences could look like. All sorts of ideas are welcome!

I’m curious about the hub-based conference format. How would that work?

Not sure if my understanding is correct, but I like the idea of having multiple institutions co-hosting NIME. Even though some disadvantages (the hubs may become isolated), it can make the conference more accessible and reduce our carbon footprint.

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There are many ways this could be done, but the idea would be to have multiple hubs spread around the world and have people travel to the closest one. The hubs would be connected so that everyone should be able to attend everything. The people behind ICMPC have made a short documentary explaining their concept.

One could think about different types of organizational structures:

  1. A central hub with connected nodes that takes the main responsibility, with a set of nodes around the world. This would be the closest to a “traditional” NIME, but with the added benefit of allowing people to participate without travelling around the world.
  2. Several equally equipped hubs that share the responsibility. This may provide the best and most well-balanced experience for everyone, particularly for concerts.
  3. A combination of differently sized and equipped hubs and nodes. This would allow for more people to join in, and allow for setting up smaller nodes in many locations.

For all of the above, it is also possible to include an online component. The question is how it is possible to create a good experience for as many as possible.

What do you think? What would be your preference?

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Thank you for the ICMPC documentary! Their assessment is similar to what I had in mind, and they noticed the drawbacks I was expecting (interaction, time zones, absence of live meetings with colleagues far away). I also liked the idea of a 24h Zoom/YT.

I think this model fits NIME, and we can expand this model by having unlimited chat rooms to simulate group talks in coffee breaks, for example. Option 3 makes more sense to me, and we don’t need to expect the same structure in all hubs/nodes.

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