For illustration artists, educators, creativies--AND qualified graduate students--sheltering in from the summer heat, here’s an opportunity to consider for next summer, around now: ICON13 The Illustration Conference. To be held in Baltimore, it's being hosted by @marylandinstitutecollegeofart, and now invites abstracts for 20 minute presentations that broaden the understanding of how illustration is changing in the classroom, practice, and research. The deadline is June 30^th. Here’s the scoop:

 Prisms, The Illustration Education Symposium at ICON13, invites abstracts for 20 minute presentations that broaden the understanding of how illustration is changing in the classroom, practice, and research. Unusual avenues of practice and inquiry are encouraged, including both theory and practice-based research. Academics, illustrators, typographers, designers, painters, artists, and multidisciplinary practitioners are welcome to submit. Abstracts should be no more than 300 words and should fall under one of the following areas:

1. Illustration Pedagogy & the Classroom
2. Education through Museums, Archives & Special Collections
3. Translating Research Interests into Teaching & Practice
4. Envisioning Illustration Futures

Graduate students are also invited to submit abstracts for 10 minute presentations about illustration research, pedagogy, and practice. Note: Accepted students must be currently enrolled in a graduate program OR have graduated from an MFA or MA or masters program between 2025 and 2026.

Submitted proposals and selected presentations will be juried by ICON13’s panel of peer reviewers, including Prisms Co-Chairs @sayerhs, Washington University in St. Louis, and @rhartleysmith, SUNY Fashion Institute of Technology. If accepted, in lieu of a paper, presenters will need to submit a draft presentation with presentation notes or script for review. Final presentation files will be collected at least a month prior to the symposium.

Read the full CFP and submit your abstract via the Google Form here: linktr.ee/iconconference