Call for Participation NIME 2016

Call for Participation
On behalf of the NIME 2016 Committee, we would like to invite you to be part of the 16th international conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression.We invite submission of new works in the following categories:

Papers and Posters
Performances, Installations and Exhibitions
Demonstrations
Workshops and Unconference day activities

Important Dates
Submission: January 25, 2016
Review notification: March 28, 2016
Camera-ready paper/program note deadline: April 18, 2016
Theme and Process
The thematic focus of this year’s edition is Musician & Machine. Submissions that extend, stretch, or challenge the NIME topics and themes, are also welcome. Submissions should be made at the dedicated submission page, which will be advertised here in due course.

This year we are encouraging all submissions (including papers) to include a short video, that assists in demonstrating the research claims, performance aesthetic, quality of demonstration, etc. Papers, video or program notes from all accepted submissions will be published in the conference proceedings, under an ISSN/ISBN reference, and will be archived online after the conference to be tracked by citation tools.

All submissions will be subject to a peer review process by an international expert committee. Given the new focus on accompanying video documentation, the review process will be single-blind for all categories (this means the author’s identities will be known to the reviewers, but the reviewers will remain anonymous). A manuscript submitted for review cannot be already under review for publication elsewhere or be submitted for a second review elsewhere while under review for NIME 2016.

Call for Papers
We invite academic papers describing original research on new interfaces for musical expression. Papers should be up to 6 pages in length, formatted according to the provided paper template (available here soon). Authors are strongly encouraged to also submit a short video in support of their paper. Submissions must provide an original contribution to NIME research, appropriately cite prior related work, and demonstrate a rigorous research methodology.

There are two different paper presentation options:
Oral presentation
Poster presentation
Please indicate your preferred presentation option during the submission process. The program committee reserves the right to allocate accepted paper submissions into either category regardless of the indicated preference.

A best paper award will be presented to the individual(s) judged by the paper committee to have written the best paper appearing in the conference proceedings.

Call for Demonstrations
We welcome submissions of original instruments and technologies designed for use as new interfaces for musical expression.

Proposals should include a max 2 page description and short video presentation, which will appear in the conference proceedings, and a 1 page description of technical requirements for the demonstration.

A best demonstration award will be judged by the selection committee and presented to the individual(s) responsible at the conference.

Call for Performances and Installations
We invite submission of proposals for performances and installations. Novel and exploratory use of new interfaces is encouraged. Proposed performances and installations should have a clear connection with the substance of the NIME conference and may be connected to a poster or demo submission.

Typical NIME performance pieces last for 5-15 minutes, but shorter and longer performance proposals may exceptionally be taken into consideration.

Venues for installations are still being finalized. Please indicate space requirements and preferences and review chairs will take these into account when finalizing submission selection.

Along with general NIME concerts we particularly invite performance submissions for the following themed concerts:
Works that feature one or two Disklavier pianos
Live coding performances
New compositions for a Wurlitzer 260 theatre organ (http://theatreorgans.com/southerncross/Queensland/ModArt.htm)
We anticipate further details of specific performance and exhibition opportunities to be announced as they become available.

Proposals in this category should include a 1 page description, program notes, artist bios, and a 2-3 minute video preview, along with a 1 page description of technical requirements. The video preview will be used for the purposes of review and selection. Video documentation of all performances and installations will occur during the conference, where practicable, and be made available online following the conference.

Please keep in mind the following when preparing performance and installation submissions:
Advise whether performance would be better in club, bar or traditional concert environment, or other venue.
List any instrumental performers that would need to be provided by the organizers. Note that the conference organizers may not be able to accommodate your request. Please also note that the organizers cannot provide funding to support performers’ travel or accommodation at the conference.
Provide evidence of the feasibility of the performance. For example documentation and listings of past performances or related works that demonstrate the submitter’s capacity to implement the proposed performance.
Include the names of all participants/submitters, with a short bio for each (100 words).
Include the duration of the work. Typical NIME performance pieces last for 5-15 minutes, but shorter and longer performance proposals may exceptionally be taken into consideration.

Call for Workshops
We invite submissions for two categories of workshops.
NIME Workshops — targeted at the NIME community, and conference delegates
Unconference Workshops — relevant to a broader range of participants.
NIME Workshops: either half-day (3 hours) or full-day (6 hours). These can be targeted towards specialist techniques, platforms, hardware, software or pedagogical topics for the advancement of fellow NIME-ers and people with experience related to the topic. NIME Workshops will be held at the Queensland Conservatorium with facilities typical of a university music department.

Unconference Workshops: either short (1 hour) or long (3 hour) workshops targeted toward visitors to the NIME community, novices/newbies, interested student participants, people from other fields, and members of the public getting to know the potential of NIME. Unconference Workshops will be held at The Edge (http://edgeqld.org.au), State Library of Queensland – a digital media and makerspace that offers access to creative software, Mac lab, Recording Studio and a workshop space with facility for electronics (soldering) and fabrication.

Workshop proposals should clearly indicate the audience and assumed knowledge of their intended participants to help us market to the appropriate audience. Workshops can relate to, but are not limited to, the topics of the conference. This is a good opportunity to explore a specialized interest or interdisciplinary topic in depth with greater time for discourse, debate, and collaboration.

Review Process
Submissions will go through a rigorous review process. Overall, the review process comprises three layers of evaluation: reviewer, meta-reviewer, and track chairs.

The process is as follows:
Each submission is assigned to one meta-reviewer representative of a topic category.
The meta-reviewer together with the area chairs assigns the submission to reviewers for evaluation. Each submission has at least two reviewers.
The meta-reviewer moderates the area based on the reviewers’ comments and may add their own comments.
Area chairs collate reviews and moderation input. In discussion with the meta-reviewers he or she finalizes the decision for each submission.
Reviewers remain anonymous to the authors (single-blind).
Topics
In addition to submissions that address the specific theme (Musician & Machine) of this year’s edition of the conference, original contributions are encouraged in, but not limited to, the following topics:
Novel controllers, interfaces or instruments for musical expression
Augmented/hyper instruments
Novel technologies for collaborative performance
Theoretical or philosophical discussions about performing with new interfaces
Sensor, actuator technologies, haptic and force feedback devices
Explorations of the relationship between motion, gesture and music
Interfaces for musical expression for people with special needs
Musical applications of robotics
New performance paradigms for mobile music technologies
Musical mapping strategies
Embedded musical instruments and embedded sound art installations
Interactive sound art and installations
Musical human-computer interaction
Interface protocols and data formats
Performance rendering and generative algorithms
Machine learning in musical performance
Artistic, cultural, and social impact of NIME technology
User studies and evaluations of new interfaces for musical expression