Encoding the Image: How does AI affect the Future of Photo History?
Berenice Abbott, IBM, Woman and Wires, 1944, gelatin silver print. Berenice Abbott Archive, The Image Centre (AG04.2012.2021_0094)
About
The symposium is organized by The Image Centre with support from:
A conference presented by The Image Centre in partnership with pictorIA and High Vision.
Free admission. Registration required.
Dates: Monday, March 31 – Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Location: Various sites at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU)
350 Victoria St, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3
The forum Encoding the Image: How does AI affect the Future of Photo History? explores how historians, curators, and archivists collaborate with computer scientists to develop AI tools that advance research, collection management, and accessibility to photographs in cultural heritage institutions. Over three days, the forum will offer training sessions regarding key concepts, present case studies developed in North America and Europe, and discuss scholarly research that integrates AI to analyze photographs. The conference will foster dialogue and networking among students, professionals, and scholars.
The event is organized by Dr. Thierry Gervais, Professor, Toronto Metropolitan University and Head of The Image Centre’s Research Department, which has championed research excellence in photography and lens-based media since 2012 through symposia, publications, fellowships, and collaborations.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Programming
Monday, March 31, 2025
Note: The schedule, speakers, and participants for the forum are subject to confirmation and will be updated as details are finalized. Please check back regularly for the latest information.
Developments
Experts in digitization, archival systems, and computer sciences will provide hands-on training on the foundational technical and theoretical aspects of AI in cultural heritage contexts. Topics include image digitization, IIIF standards, and computer vision for heritage materials. The day concludes with an off-site visit to Arkiv360 to see their innovative digitization and AI tagging workflows.
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Note: The schedule, speakers, and participants for the forum are subject to confirmation and will be updated as details are finalized. Please check back regularly for the latest information.
Dialogues
This day focuses on case studies from North America and Europe, showcasing projects that retrieve, organize, and analyze large collections of digitized photographs. Presentations include the American Access & Discovery of Documentary Images, the Swiss Visual Contagion, the French High Vision, and the Canadian Rudolph P. Bratty Collection & Arkiv 360. A roundtable discussion with all the speakers will follow and an artist talk as part of the IMC Tanenbaum Lecture Series, will conclude the day.
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Note: The schedule, speakers, and participants for the forum are subject to confirmation and will be updated as details are finalized. Please check back regularly for the latest information.
Discourses
Scholars who integrate AI tools into their research will present studies exploring iconographic trends, the circulation of photographs, and AI biases. The day will feature discussions on the implications of AI for historical photography research, including its representation of marginalized groups. Closing remarks from IMC staff and the F+PPCM MA Program will wrap up the forum.