Call for alt.nime

Important Dates:

All dates are 23:59 AoE (Anywhere on Earth).

  • 4 December 2025: Submission CMT Site opens
  • 5 March 2026: alt.nime submissions due
  • 9 April 2026: Acceptance decisions and reviews released
  • 30 April 2026: Camera ready and presenter registration deadline
  • 24-26 June 2026: NIME Conference


NIME 2026 mourns the discontinuation of alt.chi. alt.chi was “a forum for controversial, risk-taking, and boundary-pushing research” at the CHI conference. NIME 2026 is inspired to pick up and carry forward the tradition of promoting unconventional contributions.

alt.nime is a place for something different. It might be questionable, it might choose an alternative format for submission and presentation, but in some way will push the limits of what NIME can be.

alt.nime submissions might:

  • fight with core musical assumptions, explode technological paradoxes, deconstruct research myths and narratives
  • apply unorthodox methods that expand NIME boundaries and quandaries
  • engage with controversial socio-techno-musical issues through politically activist or otherwise interventionist perspectives and practices such as whistleblowing, boycotting, hacking, jamming and détournement.
  • consider different ways to disseminate NIME research throughout the conference such as sharing objects, zines, pop-ups interventions or situated participatory formats
  • question what a NIME research contribution is

alt.nime 2026 should be seen as a chance to open and provoke conversations, expanding NIME’s typical palette of what is considered academic practice, going beyond the traditional formats and presentations.

If you’re planning something atypical or are unsure about your submission, please check with us first at alt-nime@nime2026.org.

Further submission information is available here.

Submissions

  • All alt.nime submissions must include a PDF submission document using the alt.nime template. (Do not use the NIME paper template for alt.nime.)
  • All alt.nime submissions should include Title, Abstract, Author Information, Ethical Standards and References.
  • alt.nime submissions should NOT be anonymous
  • Text-based contributions should be no more than 6,000 words.
  • Unusual submission formats are welcome (e.g., scripts, pictorials, essays, scores, poems, audio or video).
  • If submitting in a non-traditional format, authors should include a description of the work (maximum 400 words) and specify any presentation requirements within the Description section.
  • Visual pictorials may be up to eight A4 pages.
  • Audio-visual submissions should aim for a maximum duration of around 15 minutes.
  • Audio & video documentation should be provided as a link or uploaded as Supplementary Material.

Review

All submissions will be reviewed based on their:

  • quality: open reviewed by a jury (to be announced on the NIME 2026 website before submission), where each submission will be presented in a public forum and discussed amongst the wider jury group.
  • presentation feasibility and compatibility with the conference.

Presentation

Selected contributions will not be presented during standard paper, poster, or concert sessions. Instead, alt.nime will feature short, dedicated moments - for example, 5-minute talks or a one-hour shared session, similar to a demo presentation.

alt.nime chairs are open to unconventional presentation formats and will do their best to accommodate diverse modalities within the practical boundaries of the conference. If an alternative presentation is accepted, authors might have to shape and adapt their work in response to logistical possibilities and constraints.

Publication

Accepted work will be included in the conference proceedings as a separate track, with alt.nime contributions formally archived as part of the NIME 2026 documentation while retaining a distinct identity.

At least one author of accepted submissions must register for the conference by the publication-ready deadline to be included in the conference.