The Heritage of Laundry – An Immersive Audio Tour by Anna Celeste Edmonds

A new QDT project is underway with sound artist, field recordist, and researcher Anna Celeste Edmonds, to create a mobile locative immersive audio guide, informing and engaging listeners in the hidden histories of Laundries in Brighton. This audio guide will encompass different locations around Brighton which are associated with laundry heritage; using dialogue, music, and sound effects, to enhance these rich historical narratives for the public to enjoy. The audio guide will be explored as a soundwalk in a selection of public sessions later this year, so watch this space for more information on how this work develops.

Anna began her early sound career with a combined interest in song writing for piano and voice, and field recording; alongside a love for nature, heritage, and the ruin. Over the years, these themes inspired her many artistic pieces documenting small and large scale landscapes, heritage, and at-risk locations; creating field recordings, vocal works, and musical pieces in response to the sites. Anna certified her love for sound and heritage through completing an MA in Sound Arts at London College of Communication, which lead her to her funded research with SEAHA-CDT – embarking on an MRes in Science and Engineering in Arts, Heritage, and Archaeology from UCL, and associated PhD at University of Brighton. She is currently concluding her vast doctoral project at the site of Brunswick Square, Brighton & Hove, with her heritage partner The Regency Town House and her industry partner Echoes; with this heritage laundry tour as her next exciting project. Over the period of her PhD she composed, built, and publicly presented two locative mobile immersive audio experiences to engage listeners in local history, testing new technology and 3D listening. More details on these soundwalks, and other past works, can be found on her website https://annacedmonds.com/ .