Visible Evidence is a peripatetic international and
interdisciplinary conference on the role of film
and video as witness and voice of social reality, which encompasses a
wide range of cultural, political, social, historical, ethnographic and pedagogical
questions and perspectives from fields
such as anthropology, architecture, art history, ethnic studies, gay and lesbian
studies, history, journalism, law, medicine, political science, sociology,
urban studies and women's studies. First held at Duke University in 1993,
subsequent editions have been held at the University of Southern California,
Harvard and then Cardiff, before returning to the USA, followed by editions
in Utrecht (2000), Brisbane (2001) and Marseilles (2002). There is an associated
series of books published by University of Minnesota Press.
Conference panels are typically devoted to topics such as
IMAGE, REALITY, TRUTH; IDENTITIES, BORDERS, CROSSING;
HISTORY, MEMORY & SCIENCE; NEW FORMS, NEW IMPLEMENTS. The conference has established the
format of a single stream of around 15 panels over four days, augmented
by separate screenings with invited film makers, generally (but not exclusively)
from the host country. The conference
seeks to expand beyond a purely academic schema and make links with filmmakers,
curators and producers, in order to engage in debates on contemporary documentary
practice and to explore the space between the perspectives of scholars and
cultural producers and promoters.
