Artist Designed Systems in Community Radio

Abstract

Skylark is a full-time licensed radio station, founded by the author of this thesis. Since 2020 it has broadcast a continuous and ever-changing sound installation, rejecting the conventional radio schedules of presenters, programmes, music tracks, adverts etc. Its content is drawn from contributors within Dartmoor National Park, and includes oral histories, music, poems, field recordings, archive material and fragments of bespoke music. Skylark is also a public service and research project that intends to offer an innovative way forward for community radio in the UK. Such stations are intended to respond to their locations, include multiple voices, and be not-for-profit. Applying these limitations to full time broadcasting is often demanding, leading to over reliance on the kinds of automation technologies—playout systems—that were originally designed for commercial radio, and can reduce agency for presenters and producers, whilst offering listeners a generic sounding station. This thesis outlines the social, historical, technological factors that have influenced the development of community radio in the UK, and how the Skylark project has responded to them. It uses a systems-based approach to identify ways in which access to broadcasting could be improved by applying insights from artistic practice.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Plymouth
Supervisor	Hannah Drayson (Director of Studies (First Supervisor)) & Michael Punt (Other Supervisor)