8-10 June 2026
Theatre Archive at the National and University Library of Iceland

Call for Papers

In an era of global turbulence—where the ground beneath us is literally and metaphorically shifting, and where histories are being questioned and reinterpreted—museums, archives, and libraries have become both flashpoints and havens. These institutions exist in a constant state of negotiation: tasked with bringing order to disorder, creating catalogues from chaos, and preserving the fragile traces of artistic expression under increasingly uncertain conditions.
Iceland, set between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, is a living metaphor for this precarious balance. Its landscapes, shaped by volcanic activity and seismic movement, mirror the creative volatility and resilience of the performing arts. Yet, as the threat of climate disruption looms—scientists warn that a collapse of the Gulf Stream could transform Icelandic & European life—questions of sustainability, adaptability, and preservation become ever more urgent.
Friction, however, is not solely a force of destruction—it also generates transformation. The performing arts, inherently ephemeral, demand innovative approaches to documentation, preservation, and access. At this critical juncture, it is vital for those who steward performance heritage to share resources, methodologies, and experiences; to amplify marginalized voices; and to engage in deep reflection on the future of both our institutions and our shared humanity.
The 2026 SIBMAS Symposium will explore these and related issues, focusing on how performing arts collections and institutions adapt, endure, and evolve amid instability.

Themes may include:

• Museums, libraries, and archives as institutions of flux and order
• Documentation of secondary material such as theatre criticism and arts journalism
• Challenges of digitisation and the digital turn
• Institutional collaboration — national and international
• Cross-museum and cross-disciplinary partnerships
• Artificial intelligence: advantages, risks, and ethical questions
• Large-scale projects vs. small-scale research and community archives
• Public visibility of collections vs. funding shortages
• Traditional and emerging methodologies of collecting
• Climate emergency and the future of preservation
• Performing arts information professionals in transition: evolving roles, spaces, and services in a hybrid and post-digital era

We cordially invite archivists, librarians, curators, scholars, researchers, artists, and students to submit proposals.
Please send your abstract (200–250 words) and a short biography, in English, to info@sibmas.org 

We are considering a mixture of different formats such as paper presentations, poster exhibition, and round-table. Please indicate which format you would prefer for presenting your work.

Deadline for submission: 9 January 2026.

In case of inquiries, please contact
Sigríður (Sigga) Jónsdóttir (sigridur.jonsdottir@landsbokasafn.is) and SIBMAS (info@sibmas.org)

We look forward to your proposals and can‘t wait to welcome our delegates in Iceland 2026.

BETA: Why doesn’t the computer do it?
ARI: Because it’s not on.
BETA: Why not?
ARI: Because I enjoy this.
BETA: Won’t everything go wrong?
ARI: Beta dear, the computer itself isn’t more advanced than I. It was I who fed it.
BETA: Well.
ARI: Strange how people have a hard time understanding computers. They don’t do anything more than the man told them to do.
BETA: Do you understand computers if you understand men?
Final Rehearsal – Svava Jakobsdóttir