Between 2 and 4 July 2025, Lisbon became a global stage for the exploration of immersive visual cultures, hosting the 34th International Panorama Council Conference. Under the theme The World at a Glance. Panoramic and Peep Technologies, the event – organised by the International Panorama Council, Early Visual Media Lab (CICANT, Universidade Lusófona), and the Institute of Art History (IHA, NOVA FCSH) – brought together experts, artists and scholars to investigate the diverse histories, practices and imaginaries of immersive and mediated vision.

The conference unfolded through a rich and interdisciplinary programme, featuring more than 45 speakers from 18 different countries. Presentations and round tables traced the evolution of immersive visual practices – from 17th-century perspective boxes and 19th-century cosmoramas to digital reconstructions of panoramic heritage and contemporary media environments. Participants engaged in thematic panels such as Future Perspectives for Panoramas and Cosmoramic Travelling, highlighting the diversity of research and creative approaches that continue to shape the expanding field of immersive media studies.

Keynote sessions framed the conference’s central dialogue between historical and contemporary modes of visual immersion. Opening the academic programme on 2 July, artist Yadegar Asisi brought his distinctive perspective on panoramic art to the conference through his presentation The Analog Panorama in Times of New Technological Possibilities. Known for transforming architecture into vast 360° immersive experiences, Asisi reflected on how analogue creation persists as a meaningful counterpart to new technological media. Later that day, Denis Pellerin, photo historian and curator of the London Stereoscopic Company, presented The World at War at a Glance and In-Depth, a 3D lecture exploring the use of stereoscopy and aerial imagery during the world wars. On 3 July, Tom Gunning, film historian and theorist, delivered An Eye Propelled by New Technology: Panoramas and the Frame in Motion, a keynote examining the intersections of panoramic vision, technological mediation, and modern perception.

Beyond the lecture halls, participants were invited to a guided visit of The Cosmorama in Lisbon. Virtual Travels in the 19th Century, an exhibition at the Cinemateca Portuguesa—Museu do Cinema that recreated historical cosmorama viewing experiences. Drawing on archival research, physical reconstructions, and digital mediation, the display explored how audiences encountered optical vistas within a visual medium that played a central role in 19th-century visual culture, but is now largely forgotten. The exhibition was organised by the Early Visual Media Lab (CICANT, Lusófona University) and the Art History Institute (IHA, NOVA FCSH) as part of the research project Curiositas.

The conference concluded with a post-conference tour exploring Lisbon’s own connections to panoramic culture: visiting The Surrender (1918–1920), a panoramic painting by Adriano Sousa Lopes, panoramic tile panels at the National Tile Museum, and culminating in a historic boat trip along the Tagus River, retracing vantage points depicted in early panoramic views of the city.

Photographs by Isabel Pina