People

Tom Simmons is a specialist in critical sound practice with interests in intercultural and networked communication. His research focuses on the politics and aesthetics of sound in interconnected communities, systems and situations. This includes norm-critical and intercultural sonic research, particularly relating to communities and the design and use of communication technologies; network technologies and infrastructures in sound performance and improvisation; and sound in narrative and experimental media. He has a long-standing interest in the development of creative methods in cooperative and critically reflexive communication practice. He has co-led research initiatives including the AHRC Creative Exchange hub and Design as Human Interface programme, and many collaborations with communities and organisations. He currently co-leads the British Council Crafting Futures Central Asia project, working with crafts practitioners and organisations to investigate the value of intercultural dialogue, storytelling and collective learning in addressing global and regional threats to craft practices and heritages in Central Asia.