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In celebration of International Women’s Day 2027,  we invite scholars, practitioners, and enthusiasts to submit abstracts for participation as speakers, or panelists in a free, online, global, 24-hour online, free symposium dedicated to celebrating the contributions of women to the medium of photography from photography’s announcement in 1839 to contemporary practitioners in 2024. This unique event aims to highlight the diverse and impactful work of women and female-identifying photographers, and those working with photography, across all cultures and time zones.

We seek 18-minute papers and/or proposed 45-60-minute panel discussions that explore a broad range of topics related to women’s contributions to photography. These may include but are not limited to:

• Historical and contemporary profiles of influential and under-appreciated women photographers.
• The impact of gender on photographic practice and representation.
• The role of women in shaping the photographic medium or its exhibition.
• Cross-cultural perspectives on women’s contributions to photography.
• Challenges and achievements of women photographers in various global contexts.
• Where does the project of increasing visibility stand now, and where should it go next?

Our goal is to foster a rich, international dialogue that underscores the significant yet often overlooked achievements of women in the field and discusses/plans the next steps to achieving a greater presence for them. Presentations will be pre-recorded to ensure uniform sound quality and to free speakers to respond to questions during their talks/panels. The conference follows on previous editions in 2025 and 2026, which offered a truly global exchange of ideas.

To participate:
Please submit a 300-word abstract outlining your proposed paper by 15 October 2026.
Abstracts should be submitted to Google Forms here: https://forms.gle/EfLxvb7kTaP9XmYa8. The submission form will ask for the name for all speakers, affiliation/s (if applicable), time zone of anticipated residence on International Women’s Day, and a brief (150-word) biography. Selected papers will be notified by 1 November 2026, and detailed guidelines for presentations/recordings will be provided.

We encourage contributions from diverse perspectives and regions to create a comprehensive and inclusive representation of women in photography.

Join us in celebrating the vibrant and transformative work of women photographers worldwide!

Convenors: Kris Belden-Adams, PhD, Associate Professor of Art History, Texas A&M University; Dr. Gretchen Gasterland-Gustafsson, Professor, Minneapolis College of Art & Design; Damon Stanek, Lecturer, Minneapolis College of Art & Design

Call For Papers: Women in Photography: A free 24-Hour Online Conference-a-thon Celebrating International Women’s Day, March 6, 2027
Call for papers - closes 15 October 2026
Notification of acceptance - 1 November 2026
Conference-a-thon - 6 March 2027, starting at 12:01 UTC (International Date Line)

AntiquarianAuctions is offering a copy of Samuel Palmer Chapman's Stolen Minutes with the Muses, printed for private circulation, in 1877. The book is illustrated with a tipped-in albumen portrait of the author by his son. What makes this book of particular interest, other than the fact only three other copies have been traced, is that Samual Chapman was a professional phootgrapher in Swansea from 1860 and his son, Henry Alfred Chapman, also joined the business.

The book includes a poem titled Photography, an epigram ‘Sent to a Young Lady with my Carte [i.e. cdv], which she had requested to have' and an advertisement in which the author runs down the portrait work of an unnamed photographic rival whilst praising the work of ‘Chapman and Co.’  who ‘felt they well could depend / That merit would meet his reward in the end'. 

Samuel Palmer CHAPMAN (1809-1895, poet & photographer). Stolen Minutes with the Muses. Poems. [No place, but Swansea, or Bristol?]: ‘Printed for Private Circulation’, 1877. Octavo. Pp. [iii-]iv-xviii; [1-]4-266 + a small format errata slip facing p. [3]. Mounted photographic portrait frontispiece of the author by his son, Henry Alfred Chapman.

Provenance: author’s presentation copy given to a relative (the ‘ghost’ of the inscription on the removed free endpaper can be read [in part] on the back of the frontispiece ‘Presented by the Author to his / ….. Chapman…/ … / … 1877’).

It is estimated at $250-350, with a reserve at $100. 

Details: https://antiquarianauctions.com/bids/stolen-minutes-with-the-muses-poems

London's V&A Museum has acquired a self-portrait of Maria ‘Mia’ Jackson (1818-1892), née Pattle; 1818–92), one of six sisters of Julia Margaret Cameron. It was purchased from descendants of Julia along with a second ambrotype of a South Asian women. The collodion positive on glass, or ambrotype, is dated to c.1858 and offers the tantalising suggestion that photography amongst the Pattle sisters was not confined only to Julia. As V&A curator Marta Weiss notes the self-portrait 'also invites broader reconsideration of artistic exchange within an exceptionally creative family.' The portrait places the camera centre stage with Mia off to one side, with a male figure next to the camera. All are reflected in an arch-topped dressing table mirror.  

The purchase of Mia's portrait, along with that of the South Asian woman, was funded by the V&A Americas Foundation through the generosity of Michael G. and C. Jane Wilson. 

The portrait and its wider significance is discussed in an article by V&A curator Marta Weiss in the current issue of the Burlington Magazine.

Read more here: Marta Weiss, 'Through the looking glass: a self-portrait by Mia Jackson, Julia Margaret Cameron’s sister', The Burlington Magazine, October 2026, Vol. 168 / No. 1483. Available to read open access.

The photograph is recorded on the V&A's online collection here: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1810666/self-portrait-by-maria-mia-photograph-maria-jackson/ and the South Asian woman here

Image: Self-portrait, by Mia Jackson. c.1858. Collodion positive on glass, 9.4 by 7.9 cm. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.