Draft:Christopher Joshua Benton

Christopher Joshua Benton

Christopher Joshua Benton (born 30 June 1988) is an American visual artist and researcher.[1] Known for his large-scale installations[2] and socially engaged art projects, Benton's practice also includes filmmaking, archiving, and artistic research to visualize diasporic resistance through material and intangible culture. He has presented work at the Fikra Graphic Design Biennial[3] in Sharjah and the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, where he designed a park.

Early life and education

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Benton was born in Portsmouth, Virginia.[4] He was raised by his mother Candace McLellan, an elementary school teacher.

Benton studied English literature and journalism at the University of Georgia, with intermediary studies at the University of Oxford as a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. Later he completed the MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology master's program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned the Schnitzer Prize[5] and the Obermayer Prize. While at MIT, he also studied at Harvard University with Jacob K. Olupona and his mentor Tania Bruguera. His graduate research into Black foodways in Nation Islam was subsequently published by MIT Press[6] and Columbia University Press,[7] and reviewed by The New York Review of Architecture.[8]

He started his career in New York City as a fashion stylist at W (magazine) and as an advertiser on Madison Avenue working with brands like the National Football League and Condé Nast. In 2019, he was hired as the creative director for the Chinese tech company Huawei.

Recognition

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In 2022, Benton earned the Future Black Visionary prize,[9] awarded by Meta Platforms and Brooklyn Museum, for his work on the Chocolate City Dance Map, made in collaboration with the MIT Immersion Lab. Benton was a finalist for the Artadia prize in 2023.[10] His participation in Abu Dhabi Art was the subject of a solo profile on CNN.[11]

 
"The World Was My Garden" (2021) at Abu Dhabi Art

In 2020, Benton's installation "How to Be at Rest" debuted at Dubai Design Week and was featured on Dezeen,[12] Architectural Digest, and the BBC.[13] It was subsequently shown at Jameel Arts Centre and Al Seef Festival.

In 2021, Benton presented "The World Was My Garden,"[14] which focused on Date palm, a ubiquitous fruit whose cultivation coincided with the Indian Ocean slave trade and ongoing issues of identity and class in California and the Gulf region.[15][16] In 2022, the work was remounted at Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti at the 59th Venice Biennale.[17]

In 2024, Benton debuted "Where Lies My Carpet is Thy Home," a collaboration with Afghan and Pakistani merchants to create a large-scale public plaza in the center of Abu Dhabi.

References

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  1. ^ Sarup, Pratysh (21 October 2020). "Design Diary: Meet Christopher Benton, one of UAE's most exciting new art curators". Gulf News.
  2. ^ Berger, Charlie-George (20 July 2022). "Christopher Joshua Benton Presents a Lightbox Installation at the New Adidas Originals Store". GQ Mag.
  3. ^ Ghanem, Khoula (13 November 2018). "5 Reasons to Visit Sharjah's First-Ever Fikra Graphic Design Biennial". VOGUE Arabia.
  4. ^ Angelos, Ayla. " ""Christopher Benton builds humble colorful bright art pieces from found objects". It's Nice That.
  5. ^ "Christopher Joshua Benton". Wiesner Student Art Gallery.
  6. ^ "‪Beyond Bowties & Bean Pies: A Material Analytic Approach to Eating & Meaning-making in the Nation of Islam‬".
  7. ^ Zigbi-Johnson, Najha, ed. (August 2024). Mapping Malcolm. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-1-941332-83-2.
  8. ^ Himes, Rachel Hunter. "Malcolm Was Here". New York Review Of Architecture.
  9. ^ Marcellus, Kerane (29 November 2022). "Instagram's #BlackVisionaries Program Led By Antwuan Sargent Announces Grant Recipients". Essence.
  10. ^ "Artadia Announces 2023 Boston Finalists". Boston art review. 10 October 2023.
  11. ^ "CNN Stylish Moments." (Television). CNN. January 2023.
  12. ^ Hahn, Jennifer (17 November 2020). ""How to be at Rest installation features bricolage chairs made by migrants in the UAE"". dezeen.
  13. ^ "Rethinking Design: Design Solutions for a Post-Pandemic World" (TV program interview). BBC World News. 2 January 2021.
  14. ^ Zara, Janelle (16 December 2021). "Abu Dhabi's Cultural DNA Is Evolving—Emerging Artists' Work Proves It". Cultured Mag.
  15. ^ Chaves, Alexandra (22 November 2021). "Abu Dhabi Art not over yet as Beyond: Emerging Artists runs into next month". The National.
  16. ^ Proctor, Rebecca Anne (28 November 2021). ""Past and future meet in UAE-based trio's 'Beyond: Emerging Artists' display."". Arab News.
  17. ^ "Mideast artists make bold showing at 59th Venice Biennale". Arab News. 18 April 2022.