TaPRA Gallery 2025
Open Call
As part of the Theatre and Performance Research Association’s (TaPRA) 2025 conference at the University of Warwick, we invite proposals to exhibit your work as part of the annual TaPRA Gallery. Your work will be exhibited in the main foyers of the ground floor of the Faculty of Arts Building (FAB), which will be a focal point for conference activity.
The TaPRA Gallery 2025 has an open call – meaning that we’re interested in work on any subject in a wide range of formats. You may want to display objects, costumes or exhibition materials relating to your research. Alternatively, you may want to have digital, sound or audiovisual work available for delegates to engage with.
Selected exhibitors from the TaPRA Gallery will be invited to take part in an Open Panel to present on the work, but this is not a requirement.
In your abstract submission, please use the ‘Format’ section to outline what you would like to present (ie. video, audio, installation etc) and a brief outline of how you would like to display this material. You may also like to make use of certain equipment/ resources - tables, chairs, exhibition boards, screens etc. If you would like to discuss your requirements before the submission deadline of 10 March 2025, please contact TaPRA2025@warwick.ac.uk.
In order to ensure that your work is ready for the conference opening on Wednesday 27 August 2025, we ask that either it is delivered in advance, with clear instructions for setup, by Monday 18 August 2025, or we can arrange for you to set up the material on Tuesday 26 August 2025, the day before the conference begins. The TaPRA Gallery will close at 1pm on Friday 29 August (at the end of the lunch break on the final day) to allow time for you to remove your exhibit during the afternoon and before the conference closes at 4.30pm.
Proposal Submission Process
Submit your proposals by using the Abstract and Proposal Submission Form on the conference website by 10 March 2025. Your abstract should be max. 300 words and should be accompanied by a bio of max. 150 words.
How the TaPRA Conference Works
Our conference has two types of sessions: whole group sessions for all delegates and parallel panels of papers, performances, and interventions streamed by “working group”. The working groups focus on specific research interests and disciplines and set their own themes for each conference. These themes are detailed in the calls for papers for each group (linked above). There is also an opportunity to exhibit practice research in the TaPRA Gallery, also linked above.
A complete list of our 13 working groups is available on the TaPRA website. Most delegates choose a working group that aligns with their interests and use this group as their base for the conference, attending most or all of their slots, as the working groups meet multiple times. These sessions host presentations from long-standing members and new colleagues. However, you can attend sessions hosted by any other working group throughout the conference. The programme also includes open panels where attendees are encouraged to visit working groups sessions other than their own.
To speak, present, or perform at TaPRA, you will need to identify your preferred working group and submit a proposal that speaks to their theme. You can apply to one working group only. On the Abstract and Proposal Submission Form you can also indicate that you are willing for your paper to be considered by other working groups.
Conference Environment
In addition to whole group sessions, working groups, and open panels, the TaPRA Gallery and publisher stalls are open for most of the conference, and there are social and networking events at various moments. These include the conference dinner, which is not to be missed. It will mark TaPRA’s 20th Birthday and will be held at Fargo Village in Coventry to celebrate the city’s music heritage. There will be Caribbean food, sets from a Two-Tone Band and dancing aplenty.
Access
The 2025 annual TaPRA conference will be a hybrid event, facilitating participation by online delegates alongside those attending in-person. Since our 2021 conference we have been able to experience benefits of online conferencing, such as increased opportunity for international presenters, lower financial costs to participate, and greater accessibility for those with caring responsibilities. The 2025 conference at Warwick aims to retain the wider opportunities for engagement that online platforms offer, whilst also maintaining a space for in-person engagement and social interaction.
Schedule
- Applicants will receive decisions on their proposals on 11 April 2025
- Conference registration and accommodation bookings opens 12 May 2025
- Early bird registration closes on 30 June 2025
- Presenter registration deadline is 18 July 2025
- General registration closes 12 August 2025
Bursaries
Each working group has one bursary available for postgraduate and early career researchers. The bursary includes free conference registration and £300 towards conference travel and accommodation, to be disbursed after the event on showing proof of spend. If you would like to be considered for a bursary, please tick the relevant box on the Abstract and Proposal Submission Form, when submitting your abstract.
Other Calls for Papers
You can view the CFPs for all other working groups using the links below:
Audience, Experience and Popular Practices
Performance and New Technologies
Performance, Identity and Community