Who can apply

PRISM welcomes submissions from Australia and around the world.

Applicants may include:

• academics and university researchers;
• Masters and PhD candidates;
• recent graduates and early-career researchers;
• artists undertaking substantive research;
• independent researchers and scholars;
• curators, historians and writers;
• educators;
• conservators and museum professionals;
• designers, architects, scientists and technical researchers; and
• researchers from other disciplines whose work meaningfully intersects with glass.

You do not need to be affiliated with a university or research institution to apply.

What matters is that the proposed paper is academic, scholarly or research-based in nature and makes a clear contribution to knowledge or discourse within or around the field of glass.

There is no requirement to be Australian, Australasian, or a member of Ausglass in order to submit.

Call for Papers

The theme of the 2027 Ausglass Conference is Making Space, and PRISM warmly welcomes papers that respond to or extend this theme.

Papers are not required to address Making Space. The PRISM call is intentionally broad, and we invite original research that advances knowledge or critical discussion around glass, glassmaking, glass culture, material practice, or the wider contexts in which glass operates.

Topics may include, but are by no means limited to:

• contemporary glass practice and current directions in the field;
• histories of glass, glassmaking and studio glass;
• materiality, material knowledge, processes and making;
• technology, fabrication, technical innovation and emerging processes;
• glass within art, craft and design;
• architecture, public art, spatial practice and the built environment;
• archives, collections, museums and curatorial research;
• conservation, preservation and material histories;
• education, pedagogy, institutional histories and glass training;
• culture, identity, place, community and representation;
• labour, economies, industry and systems of production;
• Indigenous, decolonial and culturally specific approaches to glass and making;
• sustainability, extraction, climate and material ecologies;
• critical theory, aesthetics, philosophy and material culture; and
• interdisciplinary, scientific, speculative and emerging approaches to glass.

This list is non-exhaustive. If your research makes a substantive contribution to knowledge or discussion

around glass or its wider contexts, we encourage you to submit.

If your research makes a substantive contribution to knowledge or discussion around glass, glassmaking, glass culture, material practice or the wider contexts in which glass operates, we encourage you to submit.

What kind of papers are we looking for?

PRISM is specifically a conference paper program, rather than an artist-talk program.

We welcome original scholarly and research-based papers, including:

• academic or critical essays;
• research arising from creative or material practice;
• papers developed from Masters, PhD or other postgraduate research;
• adapted sections, findings or arguments from a thesis or dissertation;
• historical or archival research;
• theoretical and critical papers;
• curatorial and museum research;
• material, technical or scientific research;
• interdisciplinary research;
• pedagogical research;
• case studies situated within a broader research question or argument; and
• new research developed specifically for PRISM.

A paper may emerge from an artist’s own practice, but it should move beyond a description or presentation of that practice. PRISM papers should articulate a clear research question, proposition, argument or area of inquiry and demonstrate a contribution to a broader field of knowledge or discussion.

Originality

Submissions to PRISM must be original to the conference.

Proposed papers must not have previously been published in substantially the same form or presented as a paper at another academic or professional conference.

Material may draw upon a larger body of existing research — including Masters or doctoral research, ongoing projects, exhibitions or previously published research — but the PRISM paper itself should represent an original presentation and contribution.

Research and Scholarly Criteria

As a useful reference point, PRISM adopts a broad understanding of research informed by the Australian

Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC) specifications and the OECD Frascati Manual.

Research and experimental development is understood as creative and systematic work intended to increase

knowledge and/or develop new applications of existing knowledge.

Submissions should contain sufficient detail for the Academic Review Panel to assess the scholarly merit,

originality and proposed contribution of the paper.

Reviewers will consider:

• originality and significance of the research;
• clarity of the research question, proposition, premise or argument;
• appropriate engagement with relevant scholarship, contexts or precedents;
• clarity and appropriateness of the methodology or research approach;
• quality and rigour of the research;
• contribution to knowledge or discourse;
• relevance to glass or the broader contexts in which glass operates; and
• suitability for development into a PRISM conference paper.

Reference: Australian Government Department of Education, HERDC Specifications for the Collection of 2022 Data, section 3; OECD, Frascati Manual 2015, pp. 44-48.

Stage one: Extended Abstract

To apply, please submit an extended abstract of up to 1,000 words. References may be included in addition to the 1,000-word abstract.

The extended abstract should give reviewers a clear understanding of the proposed conference paper and should normally include:

• the title of the proposed paper;
• the central research question, proposition or argument;
• the context for the research;
• the methodology or approach, where relevant;
• the principal ideas, findings or material to be discussed;
• the relationship of the paper to glass or the wider field; and
• the contribution the paper seeks to make.

Please also include:

• your full name;
• institutional affiliation and department, if applicable;
• your current position or research status, if applicable;
• city and country;
• a short biography of approximately 100–150 words;
• your preferred contact email; and
• ORCID, if you have one.

Applicants without an institutional affiliation are very welcome. You may simply identify yourself as an Independent Researcher, Independent Artist/Researcher, or another appropriate description.

How to submit

TO: PRISM@ausglass.org

SUBJECT: PRISM 2027 Submission - [Your Name]

Please attach the following two files:

File 1 - Extended Abstract: paper title, extended abstract and references. Please remove your name and identifying information from the contents of this file where possible. You do not need to avoid references that may identify the author where this is inherent to the research.

File name: [Short Paper Title]_Extended Abstract_PRISM 2027

File 2 - Author Information: include the title of the proposed paper/extended abstract. For each author,

provide full name; institutional affiliation and department, if applicable; current position or research status, if

applicable; city and country; a short biography of approximately 100-150 words; preferred contact email; and

ORCID, if applicable. For co-authored submissions, please include these details for all authors and identify

one corresponding author who will act as the primary contact for the submission.

File name: [Your Name]_Author Information_PRISM 2027

Submission difficulties: If you are having difficulties with submission, please email PRISM@ausglass.org before the submission date.

Stage two: Full Conference Paper

Applicants whose extended abstracts are accepted will be invited to develop and submit a full conference paper of 4,000–6,000 words, excluding references.

Full papers should be self-contained and sufficiently developed to support the argument or research

contribution proposed in the accepted abstract. They will undergo a second review by the PRISM Academic

Review Panel.

Following review, papers may be:

• Accepted for presentation without revisions; or
• Accepted subject to revisions.

Where revisions are requested, authors will receive reviewer feedback and will be invited to submit a final

revised paper by the deadline above.

Academic Review Panel

Submissions to the inaugural PRISM will be assessed by an independent Academic Review Panel drawn from glass, creative practice and university research environments.

The inaugural panel includes:

• Associate Professor Jane Gavan - Sydney College of the Arts, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The University of Sydney
• Dr Jeffrey Sarmiento - Senior Lecturer and Head of Glass, School of Art & Design, Australian National University
• Dr Sary Zananiri — Senior Lecturer, Department of Fine Art, Monash University
• Dr Clare Milledge — Senior Lecturer, School of Art & Design, UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture
• Dr Choi Keeryong — Lecturer, Exchange Coordinator - Design School, Edinburgh College of Art, The University of Edinburgh

The panel brings together experience across glass practice and research, postgraduate supervision, creative and interdisciplinary scholarship, tertiary education and institutional academic culture.

Each extended abstract will be independently assessed by two members of the panel wherever possible.

Reviewers will consider:

• relevance to PRISM and the wider field of glass research;
• originality;
• scholarly and research quality;
• clarity of the research question, proposition or argument;
• appropriateness of the methodology or approach;
• contribution to the field; and
• suitability for development into a PRISM conference paper.

PRISM will use an anonymous peer-review process where practicable. Authors should remove their name,

institutional affiliation and other direct identifying information from the Extended Abstract where possible.

However, anonymity should not weaken or distort the research. References to an author's own practice,

exhibitions, previous research or other material that may identify the author may remain where they are

necessary to understanding the proposed paper.

Presentation at Prism

Successful authors will be invited to present their paper in person as part of PRISM at Ausglass 2027, held at

the University of Sydney during the Ausglass Conference from 11-14 February 2027.

We anticipate accepting approximately six to eight papers for the inaugural program.

Each successful paper will be allocated a session of up to 30 minutes, including the presentation and

discussion/Q&A. Final presentation format and timing will be confirmed with successful applicants.

PRISM presenters will receive complimentary registration for the Ausglass Conference.

Successful applicants seeking support from a university, research institution, funding body or employer are

encouraged to apply for available conference, research, travel or professional-development funding.

Ausglass provide formal letters confirming acceptance and supporting funding applications provide formal letters confirming acceptance and supporting funding applications where required.

Publication

Papers accepted through the PRISM review process and presented at the 2027 conference will be eligible for

inclusion in the inaugural PRISM Conference Proceedings.

The proceedings are intended to provide a formal and enduring scholarly record of research presented

through PRISM, with appropriate publication identifiers and bibliographic information to support citation and

discoverability.

Further publication specifications, referencing style and author guidelines will be provided to successful

applicants.

Key dates

Call for papers open: Friday 25th September

Extended abstracts due: Monday 12th October at 11:59pm AEST

Abstract review: 13 - 25 October

Applicants notified: Monday 26th October

Full conference papers due: Sunday 29 November 2026 at 11:59pm AEST

Review outcome: Monday 14 December 2026

Final revised papers due: Monday 21 December 2026