Call for Submissions:

Animate EXPERIENCE 2026: The 37th Annual Conference
Theme: “The Animate Experience”
June 15-20, 2026
Pittsburgh, PA, USA [and online]
https://www.animate-experience.com/

Deadline for submissions: January 5, 2026

The 37th Society for Animation Studies Conference will take place in the city of Pittsburgh (USA) from June 15 to 18, 2026 (with optional excursions to follow on June 19-20). It will be hosted by the Pennsylvania Expanded Animation Alliance (PA XAA), a consortium of faculty from local universities (including Carnegie Mellon University, Point Park University, Robert Morris University, and the University of Pittsburgh) in concert with the Children’s Museum Pittsburgh. The event will be hybrid, with additional details to follow.

For this year’s conference, we welcome especially proposals that engage with the theme of “The Animate Experience.” While this theme presents many productive interpretations, this conference will attempt to raise questions about animation as a way of processing extreme experiences that lead to such psychological states as affect and trauma. We particularly encourage submissions that explore the potential and limitations of animation as a means of coping with experiences for animation makers and animation audiences and as a vehicle for social emotional learning.

We invite proposals on any animation-related topic but encourage in particular proposals that engage with the theme of the Animate Experience. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Animation and the Anthropocene: Animating environment
• Animation as affective practice: Haptic and/vs digital
• Animation as witnessing: Translating experience through animation
• Mediated empathy: Creating safe distance or bringing closer to the event
• Beyond indexicality: Abstraction and emotion
• Vicarious resilience: Animation as a vehicle for (learning) coping
• Animation and pedagogy: Animation in the classroom
• From screen to community: Animation and its role in the public dialogue
• Representation of experience: Hollywood and/vs independent animation
• Documentary animation: Documenting the undocumentable

SUBMISSIONS

We welcome the following submissions:

1. PAPERS, MICROTALKS AND PANELS:

Individual conference paper: 300-word abstract, 3-5 bibliographic references, 2-3 keywords, and 100-word author biography

5-minute micro talk: 150-word abstract, 2-3 bibliographic references, 2-3 keywords, and 100-word author biography

Panel: 500-word panel summary, plus 300-word abstract and 3-5 bibliographic references per paper, and 100-word author biography per panel member. Proposed panels should comprise 4 panellists.

Please note that each person may only submit a proposal for ONE of the above categories. Multiple submissions from the same individual will be rejected.

Please submit your paper, micro talk, OR panel proposal here: Oxford Abstracts

2. SCREENING:

We will hold a screening of animated works from SAS practitioners as part of the conference proceedings. Submissions should be no longer than 10 minutes in length. Please include a link from which the proposed animation can be streamed/downloaded, supplemented with a project description of 350-500 words, 2-3 keywords, and a 100-word artist biography. Please also confirm that you, as the creator of the work, have the necessary rights to screen the animation at the conference.

Please submit work using the Google Submission Form

Screening and Exhibition proposals may be made IN ADDITION TO a paper, micro talk, or specialist panel proposal.

3. EXHIBITION:

We will host an exhibition of short and or interactive animated works from SAS practitioners & Students as part of the conference proceedings. Animated shorts should be no longer than 2 to 7 minutes in length, interactive animation length should be no longer than 30 minutes. Please include a link from which the proposed animation can be streamed/downloaded, supplemented with a project description of 350-500 words, 2-3 keywords, and a 100-word artist biography. Please also confirm that you, as the creator of the work, have the necessary rights to exhibit the animation at the conference gallery.

Please submit work using this Google Submission Form

Screening and Exhibition proposals may be made IN ADDITION TO a paper, micro talk, or specialist panel proposal.

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The deadline for submissions is 11:59pm (EST) on Monday, January 5, 2026. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by the end of February 2026.

ABOUT THE SAS

The Society for Animation Studies (SAS) is an international organization dedicated to the study of animation history, theory and practice. It was founded by Dr. Harvey Deneroff in 1987. Each year, the SAS holds an annual conference at locations throughout the world, where members present their recent research. For more information, contact SAS Co-Presidents Dr. Cristina Formenti and Dr. Mihaela Mihailova at president@animationstudies.org.

ABOUT THIS YEAR’S HOSTS

The Pennsylvania Expanded Animation Alliance (PA XAA) is an educational non-profit corporation dedicated to cultivating a proactive, resilient, and mutually supportive animation ecosystem in our region. We champion workforce development rooted in interdisciplinary collaboration; Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) education; as well as expanded animation practices that go beyond conventional screen-based formats to explore immersive, performative, and pragmatic experiences across diverse aspects of life.

MORE INFORMATION

If you have any questions, please email the team at information@animate-experience.com. Please note that, as of the time of the Conference, you will have to be a member of the SAS. To learn how to “Join Today” please visit this page: https://v4.animationstudies.org/register/.