Comics and Machines explores the profound transformations reshaping the field of comics through automation, computation, and new media systems. The conference examines how emerging technologies—from machine learning and synthetic image generation to data-driven visualization—are redefining the medium’s ontology, practice, and potential. By situating these developments within broader histories of engineering, automation, and artistic research, the event aims to rethink comics not as passive narrative forms but as active computational configurations that generate new modes of knowledge, aesthetics, and cultural production.
Date and Time: 22-23 April 2026
Questions? Please contact Manouach Ilan, Ilan.Manouach@uliege.be
Agenda
- 22 April 2026 – KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm: Keynote lectures, research paper sessions, and practice-based presentations.
- 23 April 2026 – Uppsala University: Panel discussions, workshops, and interactive demonstrations. (A full program will be available after abstract selection in early 2026.)
Submission Details
- Abstract length: 250 words
- Short bio: 150 words
- Deadline for abstracts: 1 December 2025
- Notification of acceptance: 30 December 2025
- Email: conference@echochamber.be
More information
Participating Institutions
- Royal Institute of Technology (KTH),
- Uppsala University (Uppsala)
- Université Paris 8 – Labo Paragraphe (Paris)
Echo Chamber (Brussels)
Steering Committee
Jan Baetens, Jaqueline Berndt, Jan von Bonsdorff, Gareth Brookes, Benoît Crucifix, Björn-Olav Dozo, Isabelle Gribomont, Andre Holzapfel, Per Israelson, Gaëtan Le Coarer, Pedro Moura, Everardo Reyes, Keith Tillford, and Ray Whitcher
The conference is co-sponsored by Digital Futures
