Talks and Activities
2025
Invited presentation for IET – The Institution of Engineering and Technology, ‘Hearing the past: methods and explorations’, online, July 2025.
2024
York Disability Week session, ‘Enhanced Audio Description (EAD): sound design, integrated access and the future of accessibility’, York, December 2024.
2023
Invited contribution for panel titled ‘How can we best use sound to support access to heritage?’ at the Manchester Poetry Library, Manchester, December 2023.
Panel Session, ‘Film Accessibility through Sound Design: a panel discussion with filmmakers’, York, November 2023.
Invited presentation, ‘Sustentabilidad del Medio Ambiente y la producción de cine y televisión,’ Lago Cinema, Festival de Cine Estudiantil, Tec de Monterrey, online, November 2023. You can watch the presentation here.
Invited presentation, ‘Enhanced Audio Description: a new accessibility paradigm,’ Institute of Acoustics, Midlands Branch, June 2023.
Invited presentation, Accessibility through Sound Design, LUMA Film Festival, York, June 2023.
Invited presentation, ‘Beyond the Voice: Enhanced Audio Description and Accessibility’ for Sound and Disability Workshop, Liverpool, March 2023.
Invited presentation, ‘Medievalisms and Soundscapes,’ Coding Medieval Worlds 3, online, February 2023. You can watch the presentation online.
2022
Festival of Ideas, I presented together with Professor Gavin Kearney on ‘Enhanced Audio Description: creative accessibility for film and television,’ York, June 2022.
Guest lecture titled ‘Enhanced Audio Description: sound design, creativity and integrated access,’ as part of the Inside/Out Lectures of Leeds School of Arts Research Centre, online, April 2022.
2021
November 2021, ‘Sisters with Transistors’ screening and discussion on women in sound and music, National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, invited chair.
In April 2021 I had the pleasure of being a guest speaker as part of the ‘Let’s Talk Innovation’ series. Thanks to The Digital Television Group and Carrie Wootten for having me. You can watch the episode here.
2020
BBC Sounds Amazing: Celebrating Innovation in Audio. On 15th October 2020 I had the pleasure of being part of this wonderful event, discussing the project Enhancing Audio Description.
Presentation on Enhancing Audio Description. Digital Television Group (DTG) Summit, session on Next-Generation Audio and Accessibility, 7th October 2020. Online. Invited presentation.
‘Enhancing Audio Description: Integrated Access, Sound Design and Binaural Audio,’ Evolving Access Services, Content for All, Television for All, 28 May 2020.
‘Enhancing Audio Description: Towards accessible creative experiences in film and television,’ Brunel University, London, 26 February 2020, invited speaker.
2019
‘Sounds of Space,’ Edinburgh Science Festival, Edinburgh, UK, 6th-21st April 2019, invited speaker. Session organised by Helen Keen.
2018
‘Gender Equality in the Audio Industries,’ BBC Music Day, National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, UK, 19 September 2018, invited speaker.
‘Listen Up! Developments in Next Generation Audio,’ Sky Tech Summit, London, UK, 11 September 2018, invited speaker.
‘The Soundscapes of the York Mystery Plays: Gamifying Aural History,’ York Festival Trust series of lectures, York, UK, 5 September 2018, invited speaker.
‘The Hexagon Experiment #5: Wow Machine,’ Brighter Sound, Newcastle, 31st August 2018, invited speaker.
‘Echoes of Nature: Wildlife Documentary Soundscapes,’ Youth STEMM Award, Sixth Form Conference – Exploring a more sustainable future, does STEMM have the answers? University of East Anglia, Norwich, 4th-5th July 2018, invited speaker.
Opening speech as part of the inauguration of the International Exhibition on Art and Disability (Eleanor Worthington Prize), York St. John University, York, UK, 16 May 2018, invited speaker.
‘The Sounds of the Past,’ Pint of Science Festival 2018, Black Swan, York, UK, 14 May 2018.
Exhibitor in ‘Sounds Amazing’ BBC Conference, BBC, London, UK, 2 May 2018, by invitation.
‘Sound Design and Binaural Audio for Visually Impaired Film Audiences,’ AES London Meeting, King’s College London, 7 February 2018, invited speaker.
‘Women in the Studio’, Women in Music 2018, Association of Independent Music, London, UK, 17 January 2018, invited speaker.
2017
‘Future of Women in the Audio Industry’, We Are Robots Festival, London, UK, 2-5 November 2017, invited speaker.
‘Enhancing Audio Description: The Screening’, Tate Britain, London, UK, 23 September 2017.
Foley Workshop, #NormalNotNovelty Workshop for Red Bull Studios, Leeds College of Music, Leeds, UK, 19 September 2017, invited speaker.
López, M., ‘How digital tools can help make arts more accessible’ Panelist at The Space and BBC Academy Accessibility Workshop, Nottingham, UK, 20 April 2017, invited speaker.
‘Enhancing Audio Description: Digital Audio and Accessibility to Film and Television’, University of Westminster, London, UK, 21 March 2017, invited speaker.
‘Enhancing Audio Description: Digital Audio and Accessibility to Film and Television’, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK, 13 March 2017, invited speaker.
‘Seeing with our Ears’, York Talks, University of York, York, UK, 11 January 2017, invited speaker.
2016
‘The Soundscapes of the York Mystery Plays’ in Being Human Festival, York, UK, 18-21 November 2016 (Talk and Sound Installation) (Funded by the Being Human Festival).
‘Using Sound Design to foster Inclusivity’ in Cambridge Festival of Ideas, Cambridge, UK, 29 October 2016 (Talk and Demo).
‘The Sensory Turn’, Themed Discussion, Medieval History Seminar, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, 27th October 2016 (Invited speaker).
‘Seeing with your Ears: Film and Television for Visually Impaired Audiences’ in York Festival of Ideas, York, UK, 13 June 2016 (Talk).
‘Sound in Film and Television’, Cambridge Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge, UK, 23 May 2016 (Talk).
‘The Sound of Cambridge’ in Cambridge Science Festival, Cambridge, UK, 12-13 and 19 May 2016 (Interactive Exhibition).
2015
‘Creative Acoustics’ in Being Human Festival, Cambridge, UK, 19-21 November 2015 (Workshops).
‘Lamb to the Slaughter: an audio film’ in Cambridge Festival of Ideas, Cambridge, UK, 31 October 2015 (Demos).
‘Audio Films for Visually Impaired Audiences’ in Cambridge Festival of Ideas, Cambridge, UK, 31 October 2015 (Talk).
‘Medieval Drama Acoustics’ in Discussions on Acoustic Modelling, AES Cambridge Meeting, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK, 3 September 2015 (Talk).
2014
‘Hearing the Mystery Plays’, St. Helen’s Church, Stonegate, York, UK, 14 July 2014 (Talk).
‘The Future of Music’, Universities Week, Natural History Museum, London, UK, 11-13 June 2014 (Exhibition).
2013
‘Hearing the York Mystery Plays’ in York Festival of Ideas, York, UK, 24 June 2013 (Talk).
2011
‘Virtual Acoustics and the York Mystery Plays’ in York 10x10x10: The History and Future of the City, York, UK, 1 November 2011 (Talk).
Mariana J Lopez 