Viscomm 37 Montage: Clockwise from top left: Berkley Hudson presenting, firepit evening, Katie Krcmarik presenting, opening reception.
From June 21st to the 25th this year, one of the highlights of my life as a visual communication scholar occurred: The Annual Visual Communication Conference or, simply, “Viscomm.” It’s a small, unaffiliated conference run by its participants. This year we were at the Juniper Springs Resort in beautiful Mammoth Lakes, California, where, at 8,000 feet above sea level, the skiing and snowboarding were still in high gear. And still in post-pandemic recovery mode, this year’s conference was small, with roughly 20 participants, but it has ranged upward of 50–60 conference-goers in the past.
From the welcome reception to the closing town hall meeting, where we all meet to discuss where and when next year’s conference will be, all the participants gather in a single meeting room with every panel being plenary in style to see and hear research, photographic, and video projects, many of which are in the beginning stages of development. In fact, that is what this conference is designed for: half-baked, half-done, and sometimes barely conceived ideas that are discussed at length with the entire group.
The best thing, however, is that many of the half-baked ideas delivered at past conferences become finished products with influential effects on the visual communication community. Indeed, the conference, started 37 years ago by founders and visual communication pioneers Herb Zettl and Bob Tiemens, was in reaction to the large conferences that, although beneficial in many ways, are often experienced with sparsely attended panels and no time for quality feedback.
At Viscomm, comradery often develops, and discussions and stories continue during the several scheduled group breakfasts, lunches, and dinners that everyone joins. Evening fire-pit gatherings, hot-tub excursions, and late-night room parties are standard fare at Viscomm. On the half-day off, which is always scheduled, afternoon hikes, local business explorations, and naps are standard activities. So, if you have never heard of the Viscomm Conference and would like to learn more about it, here’s the link to the website: https://www.viscomm.info/. There you’ll find information about the conference, this year’s program, and more. And look for updates to the website in the future for information about next year’s conference.