AIC Annual Report 2017 | Annual Review, Vol. 30

2016 was a year when there seemed to be more happening in the world of colour than ever before: more conferences, more journals, more books, more social media groups, more postgraduate courses, more international collaborations, and more members in AIC. We were delighted to welcome Croatia as a new member, bringing the number of AIC Regular Members to 27, and in this issue there is a report from every single one of them, as well as our two Associate Members and four Study Groups. These reports provide many insights into the way that the different groups function and reach out to serve their members.
The highlight of the year was of course the AIC Interim Meeting in Chile, organised most capably by ACC (see report, page 9). The theme of ‘Color in Urban Life’ was very relevant to the cityscape of Santiago and also to the interests of many of the delegates. It was entrancing on the excursion to Valparaiso to visit the house of Pablo Neruda, high on a hill overlooking the bay, where colour architecture, the decorative arts and urban life all seemed to merge into one. Other notable events reported by members in the pages of this Annual Report are: 30th anniversary of the Colour Society of Australia (page 11); large‐scale lectures of scientific popularisation and professional colour training in China (page 16); a White Tea Party, looking like a Whistler painting coming to life, in Zagreb (page 17); a visit to the Ostwald Museum in Saxony (page 20); a conference in Valentino Castle, Turin (page 23); dinner illuminated by fireflies in a Japanese temple (page 24); analysis of Rembrandt’s pigments in the Netherlands (page 27); an honorary doctorate awarded to a distinguished practitioner in Slovenia (page 30); and the opening of the Canon Exploratorium in Bangkok (page 35). Activities for International Colour Day (ICD) in 2016 were reported by about half of all member countries, and are described in a special two‐page report compiled by Prof Maria João Durão (pages 39–40). The Study Group reports show the customary variety and imagination (pages 41–44). Also included are an article on the Museum of Colours, which after four years of planning has become a physical reality in Berlin (page 45), and a preview of the Munsell centenary conference, to be held in Boston in 2018 (page 48).
A memorable activity for me in 2016 was organisation of the conference ‘Progress in Colour Studies’ (PICS), hosted by University College London (UCL) with support from the Colour Group (GB). It really brought home to me the diversity of disciplines associated with colour and language, and the strength of scholarship and research to be found in so many places. It was a particular pleasure to welcome Prof Roy Berns of RIT, my predecessor as Editor of this publication, as a keynote speaker.
– Lindsay MacDonald, Editor