There's a new convention coming to town!  AutomataCon is a newly
conceived convention of and for artists, collectors, historians, and
enthusiasts of automatons and related kinetic art.  It is being held
March 18th - 20th, 2016, at and in conjunction with the Morris Museum
in Morristown, New Jersey, home of the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection
of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata:

http://www.morrismuseum.org/mechanical-musical-instruments-automata/ 

For those coming from afar, Morristown is a direct 1-hour commute due
west from Manhattan, and just 20 minutes from Newark/Liberty Int'l
Airport.

The goal of the convention is to gather people from around the world
to share ideas, build relationships, and grow interest in automata
new and old.  The convention will include a variety of private and
public programming, including: social gatherings, museum tours, panel
discussions, live demonstrations, workshops, maker-presentations, and
an exhibition.

There will also be a premier showing in the museum's Bickford Theatre
of the extremely rare 1928 film, "Le Monde des Automates".

Originally created as a typical period silent film using hand-driven
cameras, an accompanying sound track was added shortly thereafter,
making this one of the first Swiss-made sound films.  About 25-30
minutes in length, it was intended to accompany Alfred Chapuis & Eduard
Gélis foundational 2-volume book by same title, and documents some
extremely rare automata plus a truly unique mechanical musical
instrument, the "Violinista" by Boreau & Aubry (1918-22), in
action.  A fabulous historical document!

The true value of the convention will be the relationships built and
knowledge shared when passionate people of common interest come
together.  As such, the success of the convention will depend on the
attendees themselves.  In the end, we are optimistic that great things
will come.

For more detail, and in particular, to make your reservations, please
visit the newly launched event website http://www.automatacon.org/ 

Feel free to pass this notice along to any of your interested friends,
and we'll be expecting to see you there!

Jeremie Ryder - Conservator of the Guinness Collection
Morris Museum
6 Normandy Heights Rd.
Morristown, NJ. 07960
Tel.-973-971-3724
E: jryder@morrismuseum.org
http://www.morrismuseum.org/