ASAP conferences offer three types of sessions: panels, roundtables, and seminars. Speakers can give a paper on only one panel or roundtable, but they can speak on both a panel and a seminar (or a roundtable and a seminar) and be a moderator on as many panels as they choose. Panels and roundtables generally run 1.5 hours (60 minutes for papers, 30 minutes for Q&A), while seminars run in one 2-hour session.

Seminars can be hybrid (i.e. with participants virtual and in-person), and this is at the discretion of the seminar organizer.

• Panels: A participant can submit a paper proposal independently to be included on a panel put together by the ASAP Program Committee. Participants also may propose fully staffed panels featuring 3-4 papers or presentations and a panel moderator. Panels with an interdisciplinary focus are more likely to be considered for inclusion in the program, and we particularly welcome panels featuring participants from multiple arts disciplines. Panel organizers and moderators need not give a paper on panels they organize/moderate.
• Roundtables: Roundtables run similarly to panels in regular session formats but feature 5-7 speakers who give short presentations concerning a specific discussion topic. Roundtables are good formats to introduce diverse disciplinary views about a single topic or to generate audience-presenter discussion concerning a specific topic. Roundtables with an interdisciplinary focus are more likely to be considered for inclusion in the program, and we particularly welcome roundtables featuring participants from multiple arts disciplines. Roundtable organizers can serve as roundtable moderators and need not give a paper on panels they organize. Roundtable organizers submit a full slate of speakers when submitting a roundtable proposal.
• Artist Talk, Studio Visit, Performance:  Artist Talks, Studio Visits, and Performances are new formats for ASAP conference sessions. ASAP welcomes suggestions and innovative ideas for incorporating these formats. Currently, “artist talk” sessions are grouped into topical panels. Each artist has the opportunity to present their work and participate in the panel Q&A. Studio visits are opportunities for local artists who want to invite ASAP members for a short (1 hour or so) studio visit. This could also be virtual with a creative Zoom format. Performances should relate to the core values and interests of ASAP, and do not necessarily need to conform to the conference theme. We will do our best to accommodate performances by providing a space, although we cannot guarantee recording the session.
• Workshops:  Workshops are another new format for ASAP conference sessions. ASAP welcomes suggestions and innovative ideas for incorporating this format. Workshops could be a space to craft or build, a laboratory, a pedagogy investigation, a medium exploration, and more.
• Seminars:  The seminars at ASAP foster a wider conversation than a panel or roundtable allows. Seminars are scheduled for two-hour intervals. Seminar leaders may define the goal—and, subsequently, the structure—of their meeting in a variety of ways, so ASAP offers these guidelines.

Every seminar will:

• Raise a coherent topic or question for discussion that has broad appeal across the contemporary arts.
• Advance the interdisciplinarity, diversity, and internationalism that are central to the ASAP’s mission (http://www.artsofthepresent.org/about/)
• Enroll up to fifteen participants who bring different kinds of knowledge and expertise to the discussion.
• Have a structure that suits the specific goals of the seminar.
• Communicate its structure clearly to other members who may want to attend.

Seminar organizers submit a full slate of speakers by June 1. 
Be open to all conference participants.

To meet those goals, seminar leaders may decide whether or not they want their seminar to include:

• Precirculated papers
• Prerecorded presentations
• A formal presentation of papers
• A roundtable discussion
• An open-ended discussion of the topic
• Another format of their choice

ASAP does not standardize seminar formats. We would like you to feel free to use the time in the best way you see fit. Here are some considerations and approaches.

• Think about how best you might spend your allotted time, and what you would like the conversation to be like.
• Be strategic with your time. If you have 15 participants, for example, you probably don’t want to begin with extensive summaries of all of the papers, because that will leave you with little time for anything else.
• Think about the best way to include your audience in the discussion. You might, for example, put the papers into clusters, organized around common themes, key terms, or points of agreement/disagreement. Or you might have each person recap their thesis quickly, and then provide a provocation or raise a question for the group.
• If you have personal or institutional space to do it, you might consider a website for your seminar. ASAP can link to it (though unfortunately we cannot host it).
• Feel free to experiment. And please let us know what worked for you and what did not.