Eileen Simpson

Eileen Simpson is a Reader at Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University, specializing in the intersection of sound art, digital archives, and information networks. She co-founded the Open Music Archive with artist Ben White, a collaborative initiative focused on sourcing, digitizing, and distributing out-of-copyright sound recordings while facilitating networked artistic projects.

Her research centers on archival practices, collaborative sound production, and critical data engagement, exploring how communities interact with historical audio materials through participatory frameworks. Key methodologies include distributed network performance, public domain reactivation, and speculative archival futures, often manifested in large-scale exhibitions that transform institutional spaces into sites of collective sound exploration.

Notable projects span British Art Show 8 (Auditory Learning, 2015), Modern Art Oxford (Premonition 2037, 2016), and international venues including Casa Luis Barragán in Mexico City (Open House: Divided Estates, 2012). Her 2025 works Please Destroy All Previous Lists and All or Together advance critiques of data ownership and collaborative sound production. Simpson's output consistently examines power dynamics in archival systems, community-based knowledge sharing, and temporal dimensions of sound preservation.

As a core member of the Art and Performance Research Hub, Simpson operates through long-term collaborations rather than conventional advising structures. Her work integrates institutional partnerships with grassroots community engagement, particularly through the Open Music Archive's distributed network of contributors. Current projects like Toward Usership (2025) investigate collaborative data mining within orchestral archives, bridging historical collections and contemporary participatory practices.

The Open Music Archive functions as her primary research vehicle, operating as both a digital platform and physical project space facilitating workshops, exhibitions, and international residencies. This initiative embodies her commitment to decentralized knowledge production and critical engagement with copyright frameworks, creating infrastructure for communities to reclaim and recontextualize historical sound materials.