Whether it is thought of as northern Britain, northern Europe or the Arctic, the north is increasingly becoming the focus of academic and artistic attention. Seeking to discover why this might be this conference brings together scholars and practitioners in the fields of film, photography and fine art that explore:

• Why northernness is important.

• How historical experiences and preconceptions impact upon contemporary visual representations of the north.

• The present-day currency of potentially conflicting notions of the north - for  instance, as a place of industrial degradation but also as an imagined elsewhere.

• How different conceptions of the north play through representations in recent and contemporary fine art and photography, film and documentary practice.

• How the north is represented both from within and outside northern communities.

• The effect of these representations on the subjectivities of those who actually inhabit the north