Nick Ryan Studio

Nick Ryan

Nick Ryan is a multi-disciplinary artist, composer and sound designer widely recognised for exploring the future of audio, data sonification and immersive experiences through his novel sound installations, film sound design, bespoke sound instruments, generative music compositions and interactive audio experiences. His latest work includes The Voiceline - a 39 channel sound installation commissioned to mark the Centenary of BBC Radio and the opening of The Strand Aldwych and the exhibition of Machine 9 at Cosmos Archaeology, EPFL Pavilion (Switzerland). Nick is the recipient of an Emmy for Sound Design (2023), a BAFTA for Technical Innovation (2003) and is currently an artist in residence at Somerset House Studios, London.

Tony Guillan

Tony Guillan is a producer, curator and creative consultant who works with artists and cultural organisations across the visual and performing arts, film and new media, specialising in the integration of digital and broadcast techniques, and the application of new technologies, to create work and engage audiences on and off-line. He has produced film and new media work, led public art commissioning, artist development, digital innovation and strategy consultancy for organisations including Tate, Artangel, UK City of Culture, The Space, IWM and The University of Oxford.

Nick Ryan in conversation with Tony Guillan

The Possibilities Of "Smart" Public Art

How should the town of Bletchley celebrate its links to Alan Turing? What might an artistic tribute to the "father of computer science" look like if it were made with and for the people of Bletchley? And how might a public artwork shed light on Turing’s personal story alongside his legacy of technological innovation and its impact on our lives, our communities, and our understanding of what it means to be human, today?

That was the Brief set by Milton Keynes City Council and partners to artist and composer Nick Ryan, who was recently awarded the Turing Tribute Public Art Commission. In this conversation with curator Tony Guillan, Nick will discuss his career in music and audio innovation, his work as a maker of public artworks, and the opportunities afforded by the proliferation of "smart technologies" across our homes, towns and cities for telling stories about real people, in real places, in real time.