BISA 2026
REGISTRATION OPEN
We will be sharing more details on the two-day programme soon, so please come back for that.
To Register please book via Eventbrite. One day and two day tickets are available. Registration will be open until a week before the conference.
Ticket prices:
Waged: £100 (two-day)/£60 (Thursday only)/£40 (Friday only)
Unwaged: £40 (two-day)/£25 (Thursday only)/£15 (Friday only)
Programme
Thursday 14 May
10.30am Registration
Delegates arrive and register at M Shed, Princes Wharf, Wapping Road,
Bristol, BS1 4RN
11.00am Welcome and opening remarks
11.15am Update on Sounds of the South West project
Katie Scaife and Heather Millward (Sounds of the South West Project
Managers, Bristol City Council)
11.30am Parallel sessions (delegates choose one)
Planning a sound digitisation project
Adam Tovell (Head of Sound and Audiovisual Preservation, The British Library)
In this workshop, we’ll explore the key elements of designing and delivering a successful sound
digitisation project, from auditing and prioritisation to planning and budgeting. We’ll cover topics
including:
● Identifying and managing collection risk
● Auditing and inventorying sound collections
● Prioritising collections for digitisation
● Choosing between in-house and outsourced digitisation
● Understanding roles and responsibilities in sound preservation
● Planning resources
● Selecting equipment and estimating digital storage needs
The workshop will last an hour and a half, with time for Q&A at the end.
Sound archives and creative re-use
Marcus Smith (BCfm Radio) on podcasting
One of the most successful engagement projects run in Bristol as part of Unlocking Our Sound
Heritage was the community-based volunteer podcaster project. Led by Marcus Smith, in
conjunction with local radio station BCfm, community volunteers were recruited and trained in
making podcasts, using digitised archival oral histories as the basis for their work. Drawing
inspiration from the stories of Bristolians past, the project resulted in a group of podcasts, each
reflecting on the individual’s response to the archival recordings. The project was so successful it was
run repeatedly during the UOSH period. In this session, Marcus will share his reflections on leading
the project and discuss how this can be easily replicated in any locality.
John Merion Rea on his installation Atgyfodi (vb revive vb resurrect)
Atgyfodi revives the lost voices and recordings of the National Museum of History: St Fagans’ sound
archives as an immersive surround-sound installation with found and specially filmed images. These
are interwoven and complemented by a contemporary musical composition, returning them into our
collective memory. The songs and stories are ‘collaged’ with original field recordings made in the
original locations of the historic buildings of the Museum, also places and people of iconic or
symbolic importance such as Tower Colliery’s Tyrone O’Sullivan. Atgyfodi brings to light a rich Welsh
musical tradition: songs and stories sung and told by real people. The compositional approach was
influenced by the textures and sounds of these lives; the traditional melodies, the poetry and
musicality of the spoken word guiding the process.
In the composed response, traditional songs are developed, allowing space within the composition
for re-interpretation and improvisation by contemporary musicians performing on traditional Welsh
instruments. A ‘circle’ of sorts is thus completed, and old traditions re-imagined. Atgyfodi features
the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and specially filmed and still images by Huw Talfryn Walters.
In the session, John will discuss the collaborative process with the Museum’s archives, and how he
created sonic interventions in the historic buildings of the Museum that formed ‘Act I’ of the
installation, as a sonic journey. This was achieved by capturing interior acoustics using impulse
response recording techniques, and the placing of archive voices and sonic textures, also the
archiving the acoustics for use in radio podcast iterations for BBC Radio Cymru, thus returning them
to their places of origin.
Discussion chaired by Will René (National Poetry Library, Southbank Centre).
1.00pm Lunch
2.00pm Presentations: Approaches to collecting sound heritage
Ethical approaches to field recording and archiving oral histories
Riah Naief (Listen Gallery)
This presentation reflects on ethical approaches to field recording and the archiving of oral histories,
particularly in relation to underrepresented and ethnically diverse communities. The session explores
listening as a relational and care-based practice, considering how grassroots, community-led sound
work can challenge extractive models of documentation and preservation.
In the context of BISA’s 20th anniversary, the presentation offers perspective on how
non-institutional and artist-led archives have evolved alongside - and sometimes in resistance to -
formal sound heritage structures over the last two decades. It addresses questions of access,
authorship, consent, and long-term stewardship, as well as the role of community spaces in shaping
alternative futures for sound archiving.
Riah Naief is a sound artist and listening-centred facilitator, who runs Listen Gallery C.I.C - an
artist-run, non-profit sound arts gallery and communal listening space based in Glasgow. We create
spaces for listening through workshops, performances, exhibitions, screenings, and other
sound-focused projects. Our aim is to make sound accessible to everyone and to use listening as a
way to create, collaborate, reflect, and grow together.
Challenges in crowdsourced sound heritage archives: perspectives of
organisers and contributors
Dr Pinar Yelmi (Lecturer in Digital and Interactive Design, University of Leeds)
Forming archives for urban soundscapes is significant to preserve sonic urban heritage, which is an
integral part of the urban fabric and constantly evolving with the ever-changing conditions. Since
urban soundscapes represent endangered cultural heritage values, urgent and careful considerations
need to be taken in their protection. In order to have comprehensive urban sound archives,
crowdsourcing, which is a commonly used method in cultural heritage projects, can be employed to
ensure diversity, variety, and representation of different segments of society.
In these projects, the main activity is “complementing collections” (Oomen and Aroyo, 2011), thus,
creating the collection with contributors’ recordings which may require a set of considerations.
Therefore, while having major benefits, this type of crowdsourcing also brings several challenges to
both project organisers and contributors that can limit participation and enhancement which may
affect project impact.
This presentation examines the challenges that both project organisers and contributors face during
crowdsourced sound heritage projects. Drawing on her recent research which explores ways for
collaborating with AI to assist both organisers and contributors, Yelmi will also talk about emerging
opportunities to support urban sound heritage archives.
Dr. Pinar Yelmi is Lecturer in Digital and Interactive Design at the School of Design, University of
Leeds. Her research interests fall under the areas of interaction design, human-centered design and
participatory design, and she conducts research projects on interactive experiences, interactive
storytelling and interactive data visualization. Her deep interest in cultural heritage, museum studies,
soundscape studies and sensory studies contributes to her research with a multidisciplinary approach.
3.00pm Break
3.15pm Roundtable: Balancing rights and online access
Sharing audio archives online presents the opportunity to reach a global audience. But the online
space is not without its issues, especially in view of the growing activity of non-human actors (AI).
While large funders tend to want audio shared with a Creative Commons licence, there are
implications for rights holders that need to be carefully thought through. This round table will cover
the experiences of recent work, taking a look at both copyright implications, GDPR, and the ethical
position of archives with a view to establishing a balance that works to achieve both access and
protection.
4.45pm Reflection: 20 years of BISA
5.00pm Close of day one
Delegates are encouraged to join the committee for a meal and drinks (not included,
details to be confirmed)
Friday 15 May
8.45am Tour of Bristol Archives (limited space)
10.00am Welcome at M Shed
10.15am Presentations: Recent work in sound archiving
Materiality and embodiment: a phenomenological reappraisal of digital
sound archiving
Zhuolin Li (School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester)
Utilising primary material collected through semi-structured interviews with archivists and
sound engineers across the British Library’s Unlocking Our Sound Heritage (UOSH) project
network, this paper investigates how embodied interactions with sound archives shape the
labour of digital sound archiving. Complementing these interviews with participant
observation, the research examines the physicality and corporeal practices of archivists and
technicians by shadowing them in their everyday work environments—particularly sound
studios.
The paper draws upon research into materiality and embodiment within the process of digital sound
archiving, and the interwoven relations between the materiality of digital and the embodiment of
archives within the digital sound archiving process in a phenomenological way, reflecting the
dynamic interactions of archivists and archives. This research attempts to understand the
complexities of digital sound archival practice, technology, and culture, and their intersection in the
act of archiving, with reference to the sensation of the archivist. The project asks: how do we
understand the sensory practice in digital sound archives and the physicality of archival work, and
how might this understanding contribute to a reappraisal of digital sound archival practices?
Grounded in the phenomenology of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, this research reconsiders the cultural
dimensions of digital sound archiving, with particular attention to the interrelated concepts of
materiality and embodiment. Simultaneously, the post-phenomenology developed by philosopher of
science and technology Don Ihde (1990, 2007, 2010) provides a new perspective for this research to
investigate the human-technology and human-media relations in the context of digital sound
archiving, into which the physicality of archival work and the significance of corporeality are both
embedded. Ultimately, this research provides a way of shifting conceptions of digital sound archiving
away from just a pure digital process through a technology-centric perspective, to something
understood in more embodied and sensory terms.
Zhuolin Li is a PhD candidate at the School of Museum Studies, and a predoctoral fellow with the
‘Future 100’ Scholarship at the Institute for Digital Culture, University of Leicester. He is a research
associate in the ‘Museum Data Service’ project, a joint initiative by Art UK, Collections Trust, and the
University of Leicester. His doctoral research is based on the project ‘Unlocking Our Sound Heritage
(UOSH)’ with support from the British Library, and his present research focuses on the digital sound
archives and the archiving practices, with a critical view on digital materiality, embodied experience,
infrastructure studies, and post-phenomenological methods. He holds an MSc in Museum Studies
(University of Leicester, 2022) with Distinction and a BSc in Physics (Nanjing University, 2020).
A manual for the restoration of the sound of amateur films
Jean-Baptiste Masson
This paper presents the result of a two-year fellowship intended to design and write a manual
dedicated to the restoration of the sound of amateur films. The project was conceived in close
collaboration with the Cinémathèque de Bretagne, a French regional film library specialising in
collecting and preserving amateur films related to Brittany, and was targeted at local archives often
working with limited budgets and very small multitasked teams to preserve endangered archives.
The presentation addresses the peculiar use of sound by amateur filmmakers, technical aspects and
restoration methods for sub-standard formats, including a simple solution to treat vinegared
magnetic tapes with ecofriendly and inexpensive products, the importance of establishing the
genealogy of the various elements of a film, non-standard frame rates and speeds, and the use of AI
in sound restoration.
Jean-Baptiste Masson was Marie Skłodowska-Curie / Bienvenüe fellow at the Université Rennes 2 and
at the Cinémathèque de Bretagne, where he worked on a manual for the restoration of the sound of
amateur films. He was previously a fellow of the White Rose College of the Arts and Humanities at
the University of York, where he worked on the history of the sonic practices of amateur sound
recordists in France and Britain. His first monograph, on the history of sound hunters, is to be
published by Routledge in May 2026. Jean-Baptiste is also a composer and improviser working with
instruments, microphones, and machines. jbmasson.com
11.00am Break
11.30am Panel discussion: AI, ethics and sustainability
Carl Davies, Senior Curator, BBC
David Govier, Sound Archivist, Manchester Central Library
Dr Hannah James Louwerse, Newcastle University Oral History Collective
Carl will speak about the BBC’s trial of speech-to-text in 2012 with the 300,000 hours of transcribed
content of the BBC World Service Archive. As the BBC prepares to put its wider archives through
speech-to-text, Carl will talk about its aspirations and the cataloguing strategy for this work.
David will present on the practical steps he has taken in applying AI at a small scale using
off-the-shelf products to improve collection documentation for radio and oral history collections at
Manchester Central Library.
Hannah will speak about AI, archives, and labour. She will discuss the myths and truths of AI and
labour, and ponder on what the future might hold for archives in this age of AI.
The panel will then take questions from the floor.
1.00pm Break (lunch not included)
2.00pm BISA Annual General Meeting
We will be using our AGM as a chance to update and discuss plans on how BISA can continue to
support people working with sound archives.
3.00pm Thanks and close of day two
BISA Committee
