"Screens and Fairs: Screenology Meets Culture of Attractions"
Date: 6 July 2026
Time: 4.30 - 5.30 pm
Location: TBC, Rodestraat 14, 2000 Antwerp (University of Antwerp city campus)
This lecture tries to bring two of my research interests together: the media archaeology of the screen (or 'Screenology') and the history of the culture of attractions, more specifically: that of fairgrounds. There were many kinds of attractions at the fairgrounds, some involving human performers, others mechanical treats or objects, yet others optical spectacles. Often these categories were mixed in the actual shows or changed over time. Some fairground spectacles included projection screens upon which luminous spectacles were projected. Their history, forms, and exhibitors is the general topic of this lecture.
About Erkki Huhtamo
Erkki Huhtamo is Professor of Design Media Arts, and Film, Television, and Digital Media at the (UCLA). He is a world renowned media scholar and a founding figure of media archaeology. He is also a major collector of items related to the early history of visual media. Professor Huhtamo has lectured worldwide, curated exhibitions, directed television programmes, and published widely in over ten languages. His most important book to date is Illusions in Motion: Media Archaeology of the Moving Panorama and Related Spectacles (The MIT Press, 2013).