The ECVP is an annual international conference that aims to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of new developments in the scientific study of visual perception. Empirical, theoretical, and applied perspectives from the disciplines of psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive science are all welcome and encouraged. Since 1978, ECVP has been one of the largest international conferences in the field, attracting researchers from all over the world.
General Information
ECVP 2026 starts on Sunday, August 23th with a series of hands-on workshops and ends on Thursday, August 27th with the Farewell Party.
More information …
On Sunday, August 23rd, ECVP 2026 in Bournemouth will kick off with a series of workshops and that will take place on the University Campus in the morning and early afternoon. On Sunday evening, the Perception Keynote Lecture will be held by Karl Gegenfurtner (Justus Liebig University of Giessen) at the Bournemouth International Centre, followed by the Opening Reception.
From August 23th to August 27th, all symposia, talk sessions, poster sessions and keynote lectures will take place at the Bournemouth International Centre, in the city centre, by the sea.
On Tuesday afternoon (August 25th), we will continue the Spotlight Lecture series, which showcases recent innovative and influential findings or methods in vision science. In 2026 the Spotlight in Vision Lecture will be given by Nadine Dijkstra (University College London). In the evening, the popular Illusion Night will take place (location tbc).
On Wednesday (August 26th), the traditional Rank Prize Lecture (tbc), this year given by Monica Gori (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia), will take place in the afternoon, and the Conference Dinner will be held in the evening at the Pavillion.
Finally, the conference will conclude on Thursday (August 27th) with talks and poster sessions running into the late afternoon. In the evening we will celebrate the end of the conference with the Farewell Party at the Bournemouth Pier, five minutes walk from the Bournemouth International Centre, litterally on the sea.
Bournemouth Interational Centre
The main conference venue is the Bournemouth International Centre . It offers several conference rooms, some of which faceing the sea.
Program
We are working on it ...
More information and download of program …
The detailed online program will be available soon!
Conference venues
With a click on the images below you will be redirected to a map of all conference venues on OpenStreetMap.
Main conference venues by Bournemouth Beach
- Poster sessions, talks and keynote talks and Welcome reception & coffee breaks @ Bournemouth International Centre
- Illusion & Demo Night @ TBD
- Conference Dinner (Aug 26th) @ Bournemouth Pavillion
- Farewell Party (Aug 27th) @ Key West at the Bournemouth Pier
Bournemouth University Talbot Campus for workshops.
Keynotes
We are thrilled to have secured three exceptional scientists as keynote speakers for ECVP 2026:
Perception Lecture
Karl Gegenfurtner
Justus Liebig University of Giessen
Aug 23rd @ Bournemouth International Centre (room tbc) | 18:00
Title: - Color Vision — Then and Now
Sponsored by: SAGE – Perception / i-Perception
Spotlight in Vision Lecture
Nadine Dijkstra
University College London
Aug 25th | time tbd
Title: Distinguishing imagination from reality in a generative brain
Rank Prize Lecture
Monica Gori
Instituto Italiano di Tecnologia
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Aug 26th | time tbd
Title: The Early Role of Vision in Multisensory Development
Sponsored by: Rank Prize
Perception Lecture – Karl Gegenfurtner - Color Vision — Then and Now –
Abstract:
Many of the central questions in color vision have been with us for more than a century: How precisely can we discriminate colors? How stable are surface colors under changing illumination? And how should brightness and luminance be related to perception? This long tradition has produced a remarkably solid framework of theories, measurements, and standards. Yet its very success can also create the impression that the central questions have largely been settled. In this lecture I will argue that several classical problems in color vision remain surprisingly open. My current work revisits these questions using a new generation of experimental tools. Virtual reality allows color constancy to be studied in photorealistic scenes under nearly natural viewing conditions while maintaining full experimental control. Deep neural networks provide end-to-end models of vision that link color processing directly to tasks such as object recognition. Robust ranking paradigms enable large-scale online experiments to evaluate photometric standards and heterochromatic brightness. Finally, gamified tasks make it possible to measure color discrimination at unprecedented scale, helping to overcome the curse of dimensionality in color space. It is an exciting time in vision research, when new techniques allow us to find new answers to very old questions.
Spotlight in Vision Lecture – Nadine Dijkstra - Distinguishing imagination from reality in a generative brain –
Abstract:
Our perception of reality is generative: to resolve ambiguous sensory input, our brain predicts the most likely interpretation using an internal model built on past experiences. This same mechanism allows us to generate sensory signals in the absence of input, giving rise to mental imagery. Since perception and imagery rely on the same generative mechanism, how do we know at any given moment that what we are experiencing is real and not just imagined? I will present studies that aim to answer this question using psychophysics, neuroimaging and computational modelling. The results suggest that higher-order brain regions monitor the precision of sensory signals to infer whether they reflect reality or imagination. I end by discussing a novel research direction in which we will explore the interaction between reality inferences and our internal model of the world.
Rank Prize Lecture – Monica Gori -The Early Role of Vision in Multisensory Development –
Abstract:
Developmental processing relies heavily on vision, which serves as a key organizer for integrating information from other senses. Vision indeed helps to shape how auditory and tactile signals are interpreted, supporting the development of coherent spatial and body representations. When visual input is missing early in life, as in blind infants and children, these representations are often altered, leading to difficulties in multisensory integration. Understanding how vision guides early sensory interaction reveals its foundational role in building a unified perception of the world and informs the design of accessible technologies that translate visual information into sound, vibration, or movement.
Symposia
Our symposia offer a diverse selection of research topics, featuring speakers from various career stages, research backgrounds, and global locations to encourage lively discussion and exchange of ideas. A symposium should provide a diverse overview of a research area of interest to the ECVP audience. Organizers should strive to include speakers from different career stages, research groups, and geographic locations who represent a broad range of views and ideas under the overarching theme of the symposium. Presentations should be related to each other and stimulate insightful discussion. The symposium schedule will be announced near the conference.
Please find more information about our submission guidelines on the Submissions page.
Symposium submissions are complete. For a detailed list of all symposia, including the preliminary schedule of speakers, please expand the item below.
LIST OF SYMPOSIA:
We are working on it ...
Workshops
On Sunday, August 23th, a series of hands-on science skill workshops will be held on the Bournemouth University Talbot Campus (rooms to be decided). We are still working on the these ... .