(b. 1988, Portsmouth, VA)
Christopher Joshua Benton (b. 1988) is a UAE-based artist working across sculpture, photography, and film. Christopher works closely with communities and neighborhoods to instigate collaboration and share stories of power, labor, and hope. His practice explores how the working-class uses cultural innovation to stage resistance to postcolonial and neoliberal forces.
Past work has been presented at Dubai Design Week, the Fikra Graphic Design Biennial, and Jameel Arts Centre. His art has been featured on the BBC and in outlets like Dezeen, Vogue Arabia, and Vice. You can find his writing in Identity, Tribe Photo Magazine, and Global Art Daily.
He is currently pursuing his MS in Art, Culture, and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology through the generous support of the Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation.
Education
2023
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MS, Art, Culture and Technology
2011
The University of Georgia
BA, English Literature, Franklin College of Arts & Sciences
2011
University of Oxford
Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholar, Keble College
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021
East East Vol. 4: The Curio Shop Part II, Block House, Tokyo, Japan (forthcoming)
2021
East East Vol. 4: The Curio Shop Part I, H.B. Nezu, Tokyo, Japan (forthcoming)
2020
Al Seef Festival, Dubai, UAE
2020
UAE Designer’s Exhibition, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, UAE
2019
Practice & Critique, Warehouse 421, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2019
Localities, Satellite Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2019
001, The Cave DXB, Dubai, UAE
2018
Department of Non-Binaries, Fikra Graphic Design Biennial, Sharjah, UAE
2018
SIKKA Art Fair, Dubai, UAE
2018
Edition 1, Blue Cave Urban Art Festival, Dubai, UAE
2017
SIKKA Art Fair, Dubai, UAE
Fellowships & Residencies
2020
Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation Art Residency, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2019
Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation Emerging Artist Fellowship
Commisions
2020
Abu Dhabi Art Commissions. Abu Dhabi Art 2021, Abu Dhabi, UAE (forthcoming)
(curated by Till Felrath and Sam Bardaouil)
2020
“How to Be at Rest” Dubai Design Week, Dubai
2019
“Who Gets Paid for Digital Labor?” Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai
2018
“LLC (Beware Illegal Recruiter),” Project Warehouse, Warehouse 421, Abu Dhabi
2016
“Execute Trajectory,” Al Quoz Arts Festival, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, UAE
Grants & Funding
2021
Abu Dhabi Art Emerging Artist Commissions Grant
2021
Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation Emerging Artist Fellow Scholarship
2021
MIT Department of Architecture Graduate Fellowship
2020
Art Jameel Research and Practice Platform Grant
Curation, Lectures & Workshops
2020
“Do You See Me How I See You?” maisan15 Gallery, Curator
2019
“Equality in Design: The need for just representation.” Dubai Design Week Talks, 9 November 2020, Lecture
2019
“Art Not Art,” American University of Dubai, Lecture
2019
“Lost and Unfound: Art-making and the Tentative Sculpture,” Warehouse 421, Workshop
2019
“Why Who Gets to Say What Where,” Warehouse 421, Moderator & Organizer, Workshop
2018
“#ArtSELFIE: Interactive Art for the Digital Age,” World Art Dubai, 20 April 2018, DWTC, Lecture
2017
Top 30 Creatives Under 30. Campaign Magazine
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