Benjamin Cook
- Senior Tutor (Research)
Benjamin is a curator, writer, archivist, producer and founder director of LUX the UK museum and agency for support and promotion of artists working with the moving image.
Benjamin is Senior Tutor (Research) in the School of Arts & Humanities, where he works with staff on developing their research and preparing it for the Research Excellence Framework.
He founded LUX in London and directed it for over twenty years. In 2015 he set up LUX Scotland in Glasgow. He developed curatorial development programmes in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia for the British Council He currently co-directs Moon Grove, a house gallery in Manchester, runs a production company supporting artists’ moving image projects.
He is also a gestalt and nature-allied psychotherapist and consultant working systemically with individuals, groups and organisations.
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Research interests
Benjamin’s research comes out of more than twenty-five years of working with artists’ moving image. Much of it is about the institutions, archives and material conditions that shape practice. More recently he has been exploring role embodied psychotherapeutic practices in art production and critical thinking. Current research projects include:
The application of experiential practices from psychotherapeutic modalities and gameplay in critical thinking, artistic research and organisational development.
Curatorship and archiving in artists’ moving image practice.
Histories and material conditions of artists’ moving image practices particularly in South Asia
Anthropology of materials in moving image practices and sensory histories of production technologies.
External collaborations
Chair, The Elephant Trust
Vice-Chair, Hospitalfield House