Lem Bezalel – Call for papers 

The Department of Screen-based Arts Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem and the Polish Institute Tel Aviv Invites academics, science fiction writers, animators, video game designers, comic book creators, futurologists and others with a strong interest in the works of Polish-Jewish science-fiction writer Stanislaw Lem to submit papers to be presented during the Lem in Bezalel conference: 'Lem in Bezalel – The Worldbuilding and Visual Imagination of a Polish Sci-Fi Genuis' at March 24 2022.

The talks should be roughly 20 min in length.

Structure:

• Three panels concerning Lem’s work and its relations to philosophy/animation/gaming.  
• A competition of short animation films created by Bezalel Students. 
• An exhibition of graphic works related to Lem (October)  
• A special workshop with Polish guest-speakers/experts (October)  

NOTE: Due to the COVID-19 situation the panels will be held online with the exhibition and workshop meant to take part in September 2022. 

Panels and Topics: There are three panels during the event, they are:  

Worldbuilding Lem – Focusing on Lem’s uniqueness as a creator of imaginary worlds. From the 1961 novel Solaris (and its film adaptations) to the 2022 video game The Invincible (based on the 1964 same-titled book).  

Lem and the Visual Imagination – Focusing on the challenges faced, and solutions found, by those who adapt Lem’s work to a current audience. From Ari Folman’s 2013 film The Congress to Lem inspired paintings by Polish artist Joanna Karpowicz.  

L.E.M Visions of the Future – A Holocaust survivor forced to live under a socialist system, Lem did not shy away from depicting genocide (1958 Eden) and his ideas of technological progress were not combined with optimism about the general human condition (1978 Golem XIV). In this panel, philosophers and futurologists will discuss the dark mirror Lem gifted us with.  

Each panel includes 3-5 speakers in addition to a moderator. The audience will be able to present questions to the speakers after each panel ends. The language of discussion is English.  

Please send papers to hagay.hacohen@instytutpolski.pl​​​​​​​ by March 3 2022 (Thursday).  

The academic committee which oversees the selection process includes:  

Associate Prof. Ory Bartal - Head of the Department of Visual and Material Culture in Bezalel  

Tami Bernstein - Head of the Screen-based Arts in Bezalel

Prof. Elana Gomel – Tel Aviv University Department of English and American Studies

Hagay Hacohen – Arts and Culture section of the Polish Institute Tel Aviv