In 2026, our symposium was set on Friday 13th February at the 4TH SPACE, Concordia University. Alongside 12 panelists and 10 artists, we offered:
- Our first-ever KEYNOTE on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 nostalgia;
- The bustling “nostalgia café” with live sketch artists;
- A closing act of “ritual, performance, and scholarly transmission”.
All symposium presenters and artists are listed on our Network page.
Symposium Line-Up
We proudly present the line-up for FRAMES OF REFERENCE 2026:
Keynote
Dr. Sarah Ganzon – “Of Painted Worlds and Those Who Came After”
Panel 1: Nostalgia in the Shadows
Raquel Luaces – “Between Obsolete Interfaces & Lost Futures: Retrofuturism, Internet Aesthetics”
Dr. Treva Legassie – “Attuning to Wind, Unsettling Listening”
Diego Barroso – “Rhizomatic Hauntings from the Video Game Versions of the Kowloon Walled City”
Moderated by Derek Pasborg
Panel 2: Nostalgia, the Sixth Sense?
Dr. Tom Van Hout – “Remembering Through Motion: Sensory Nostalgia & Lost Futures in Ultracycling”
Diego Barajas Riaño – “Chronotopes of Nostalgia”
Leo Litke – “Notes of Nostalgia: The Framing of Scent in Contemporary Fragrance Marketing”
Moderated by Ruth Webber-Juggoo
Panel 3: Nostalgia is Where You Make It
Mouna Douab – “Nostalgia and Memory Within Moroccan Family Homes”
Kenza Mellouki – “Home Movies and the Archeology of the Intimate in Palestinian Diasporic Cinema”
Alice Deng – “Nostalgia, Escape, and Empire in China Amisola’s A Bedroom in Las Piñas (2023)
Moderated by Dr. Cate Cleo Alexander
Research Creation Expo
Marie Khediguian – “Parallel Memories”
Melanie Garcia – “Soft-Excavation (Di-Kilala)”
Emilie Kvist – “The View From This Side”
Killaq Enuaraq-Strauss – “Inuit Kinship as Living Nostalgia”
Vanessa Hauguel – “Nostalgia Scent: Souvenirs from Past and Futures Lives”
Alexey Lazarev – “Soft to Touch”
Alex Côté Hallée – “Plastic.Archipelago”
Elliot Stocking – “Cold Comfort, Warm Grief”
Dr. Michael Iantorno – “Endless Winters”
Vanessa Randall – “Work “in situ” – the modern woolen mill facing closure”
Panel 4: Nostalgia Toys With Time
Thomas Tam – “My Poptropica: Personal Growth Through a Video Game as Child to an Adult”
Zo Kopyna – “Worm on a String: Continued Cultural Icon”
Myles Ethan Lascity – “Sounds Exactly What My Early Childhood Felt: Acquatic Ambiance & Nostalgia”
Moderated by Zo Kopyna
Performance and/as Ritual
Nyambura M. Waruingi
Posters designed by Richy Srirachanikorn and Zo Kopyna.
Highlight Reel
Photos taken by Ana Isabel Duque.
Acknowledgements
The “Frames of Reference” 2026 symposium was organized by:
- Derek Pasborg
- Rowena Chodkowski
- Annie Harrisson
- Zo Kopyna
- Ruth Webber-Juggoo
- Dr. Cate Cleo Alexander
- TJ Pherson
- Richy Srirachanikorn
Our symposium was sponsored by the Concordia Council on Student Life.
Special thank you to the 4TH SPACE team: Doug Moffat, Birdie Gregor, Isa Perelman, and Jacqueline Wechsler.
To the Milieux Institute, for being Nostagain’s original home base — and where we still call “home” to this day. To the Technoculture, Art and Games (TAG) research centre and Dr. Marc Lajeunesse for supporting us always.
Thank you to Zo Kopyna, Ophélie Queffurus, and Ana Isabel Duque for capturing the event through visual and video media.
To all presenters, artists, performers, nostalgia enthusiasts, and attendees — THANK YOU !
Contact Information
Derek Pasborg, Event Communications
Richy Srirachanikorn, Network Organization
THE NOSTAGAIN NETWORK
Released: February 13th, 2026
Updated: May 13th, 2026