The small Sussex fishing village in which I spent my childhood contained two significant buildings, significant not for their formal qualities, they were both simple cottages, but because one had been the home of Halley, the astronomer and the other the home of William Blake the poet. Without being conscious of the fact, I grew up in a cosmos in which the arts and science were intertwined, it has marked my endeavours ever since.

Dr Nigel Helyer has a unique role in the development of Sound Art, both within Australia and at an International level.  During the course of the past twenty years his contribution in the areas of practice, critical debate and advocacy have had a strong influence on the practice of Sound Art, helping it to emerge from a position of relative obscurantism to become a vital and internationally recognised form of cultural expression.

Helyer has maintained a strong insistence upon the linkage between practice and theory, not only in his practice, but also in his role as a teacher (Head of Sculpture at Sydney College of the Arts, The University of Sydney 1985~1999).

In a professional capacity he possesses a facility to operate between various sectors, frequently incorporating both Creative Arts and the Broadcast sector. He has formed a series of highly effective relationships between Cultural and Technological/Scientific entities and has undertaken projects with The Exploratorium Museum of Science and Human Perception (USA) Daewoo Heavy Industry (Korea) Lake Technology (Australia) The SymbioticA Lab ((Australia) and the Paul Scherrer Institut (Switzerland.  He is currently the Industry Partner in the ARC and Australia Council funded “AudioNomad” R+D programme.

His role as an advocate for these cross-disciplinary linkages has long been active.  His work as co-founder and commissioner for the SoundCulture organisation, has contributed to the production of a series of seminal international festivals (Sydney 1991, Tokyo 1993, San Francisco 1996, Auckland 1999 and Phoenix 2002) and SoundCulture is a major partner in the current Biennale of Electronic Arts Perth 2004.

During the last three years he has been committed to the development of policy and funding initiatives at the Australia Council that directly support Art and Science collaborations.  He played an active role in the development of the “Synapse” Art and Science partnership scheme that has introduced joint funding by the Australia Council and the ARC, established a nation wide database and hosts Artists to work within Science organisation.