On August 28th we hosted an informal evening gathering alongside the 2026 International Congress of Byzantine Studies in Vienna. More than twenty-five Caucasiologists attending the Congress joined the gathering, representing countries across the world and fields including history, art history, digital humanities, reception studies, and architectural history. We had a wide array of discussions over a long evening, meeting new and old colleagues and bringing together these different perspectives. Thanks to everyone who came, and also to Cafe Merkur in Vienna’s eighth district for being very good hosts for an unexpectedly busy evening.
Caucasus studies were very well represented at the International Congress of Byzantine Studies as a whole, especially in art history, manuscript studies, and architectural studies but also with promising new digital and theoretical approaches included in the different talks. We very much hope to build on these connections in the coming months and years, including through our planned sessions at the 2027 International Medieval Congress and plans for future conferences and events: we look forward to seeing all our international colleagues again very soon.