Dave Griffiths

Dave Griffiths has worked with the FoAM network since 2009 and is a founding director of Then Try This (previously called FoAM Kernow). His background is in commercial research and development, working for Sony Europe (developing machine vision technology for the Playstation) as well as in the film post production industry, for The Moving Picture Company in London. His software was used in feature films including the Harry Potter series and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and he has credits on Troy and Kingdom of Heaven. In 2009 he worked for FoAM Brussels on the Lirec FP7 EU project (Living with Robots and Interactive Companions), using research AI technology to drive "plant spirit" characters for an online game about permaculture. In 2011 alongside Marloes de Valk and Aymeric Mansoux he won the Fundacion Telefonica VIDA Art and Artificial Life award with Naked on Pluto, a game that reflects on the invasive means used in the development of "social software", which was exhibited in Madrid and Taiwan.

He is used to working with diverse sectors and people - developing experimental music technology for Aphex Twin (Midimutant: published in January 2018 official Raspberry Pi magazine) and working with Cornish farmers on the Farm Crap App, which won the 2014 Soil Association innovation award with the Duchy College and Rothamsted Research. His current interests range from weaving technology to robotics, for example building tangible interfaces to control maypole weaving robots for passers by in Sheffield city centre for the Penelope Project: a commission to untangle the histories of weaving, code and mathematics with the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

His media experience includes a live BBC radio 6 interview with Cerys Matthews and BBC TV news talking about Sonic Kayaks (remote sensing, citizen science and sound art for visually impaired people), and he has talked about citizen science games at the Thinking Digital Conference in Gateshead. As part of the 'slub' livecoding group he performs internationally at festivals such as VIVO Mexico City, Mozilla Festival UK, Sonar Barcelona, STRP Eindhoven, Resonance Belgium and The Secret Garden Party Festival. As part of his role with Then Try This, he also teaches programming, electronics and critical approaches to technology with primary school children, young families, school teachers and university students.

Email: dave@thentrythis.org