Dr Ben James
Lecturer, Graphic Design MA (Online)
I am a designer-researcher whose work explores ways that technologies construct knowledge and produce power, shaping the socio-economic landscapes within which they are embedded. As an interdisciplinary researcher, I draw upon technological cultures, media philosophy, and histories of design. Committed to practices that engage publics directly, my work moves between curatorial projects, documentary films, and written works.
In 2025 I co-curated transmediale, the Berlin-based festival for arts and digital culture that brings together international artists, researchers, activists, and thinkers with the goal of developing new outlooks on our technological era. Prior to directing the 2025 edition, I held the position of curator at the festival (2020-2023). My films have exhibited at galleries including MoMA New York and the Design Museum London and screened at festivals including Visions du Réel, Edinburgh International Film Festival, and Sheffield Doc Fest. I am a Deputy Course Director at The School of Communication at Falmouth University and hold a PhD from the University of Sunderland. My latest peer reviewed paper, A Geography of the Screen was published in 2024. Adjunct to my research, I work as an exhibition architect and have collaborated with artists and curators at institutions including Akademie der Künste in Berlin, ACCA in Melbourne, the Ford Foundation in New York, and Mass MoCA in Massachusetts.
External Links
Qualifications
Qualifications
| Year | Qualification | Awarding body |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | PhD | University of Sunderland |
| 2012 | MA | University of the Arts London |
| 2002 | BSc | London School of Economics |
Research Interests
Research interests and expertise
Research topics
I am interested in providing supervision around the following topics: digital culture, media philosophy, histories of design.
Areas of teaching
Graphic Design, Exhibition Architecture, Lens-Based Media, New Media, Curatorial Practice
Externally funded research grants
- AHRC CDT: 2018-2024 €162,000
- UKRI: 2021 €19,321
- Mitacs Canada: 2021 €11,104
- Arts Council England: 2017 - 2022. Seven Grants total value €111,823
Professional Engagement
Independent professional practice
- 2025 (near) near but – far. transmediale festival, Berlin | Curation
- 2024 Anyone Home? Lauren Lee McCarthy at the Kunstmuseum, Bonn | Exhibition Architecture
- 2024 Media Sonyo. Seohyo, Sey Min, Yaloo at Libby Leshgold Gallery, Vancouver | Exhibition Architecture
- 2024 Echoes Beyond the Archipelago. José Maceda at Western Front, Vancouver |Exhibition Architecture
- 2024 Filmmapping. PhD Thesis, University of Sunderland (AHRC Funded) | Written
- 2024 The Marble in the Basement. Hazel Meyer at Richmond Gallery, Vancouver | Exhibition Architecture
- 2024 Leaks. Mitacs Canada and AHRC | Film
- 2023 The Burden of (Visible) Proof. Presentation of Paper at Visible Evidence Festival, Gdansk | Written
- 2023 A Mapping of the Screen. Journal Article, Arts | Written
- 2023 Broken Machines & Wild Imagining. Jünge Akademie at Akademie der Künste, Berlin | Exhibition Architecture
- 2023 A Model, a Map, A Fiction. transmediale festival, Berlin | Curation
- 2023 Surrogate. Lauren Lee McCarthy at ACCA, Melbourne | Exhibition Architecture
- 2022 Indeterminate Distances. transmediale festival, Berlin | Written
- 2022 Free Falls Into the Image. Lého Galibert-Laîné at transmediale festival, Berlin | Curation
- 2022 Heads May Roll. Katerina Suvorova at transmediale festival, Berlin | Curation
- 2022 Notes for les Sanglières. Elsa Brès at transmediale festival, Berlin | Curation
- 2022 Indications of Guilt. Maud Craigie at transmediale festival, Berlin | Curation
- 2022 For the Record. Rhea Storr and Phanuel Antwi at transmediale festival, Berlin | Curation
- 2022 AI Anarchies. Jünge Akademie at Akademie der Künste, Berlin | Exhibition Architecture
- 2021 Rehearsal Letter. Frances Scott at transmediale festival, Berlin| Curation
- 2021 Vale. Simon Goff for K7 Records | Film.
- 2021 Out of Doors. Group show at transmediale festival, Berlin | Curation
- 2021 I Heard Talking is Dangerous. Lauren Lee McCarthy at Eigen, Berlin |Exhibition Architecture
- 2021 On a Clear Day You Can See the Revolution From Here | Film Screening MoMA New York
- 2021 On a Clear Day You Can See the Revolution From Here | Film Screening Athens International Film and Video Festival
- 2020 On a Clear Day You Can See the Revolution From Here | Film Screening Sheffield Doc Fest
- 2020 On a Clear Day You Can See the Revolution From Here | Film Screening Edinburgh International Film Festival
- 2020 On a Clear Day You Can See the Revolution From Here | Film Screening Visions du Réel, Switzerland
- 2020 It’s Difficult to Insult A Guilty Person (co Maud Craigie). transmediale festival, Berlin | Written
- 2020 BANFF Centre, Canada | Residency Workshop
- 2019 Augmented Architecture. Jakob Kudsk Steensen at Serpentine Galleries, London | Exhibition Architecture
- 2019 A Street Loud with Echoes. Donald Harding, Shaun Badham, and Maeve O’Neill at South Kiosk, London | Curation
- 2019 The Theory of Concentric Spheres. South Kiosk, London | Curation
- 2019 As Above / So Below. Ben Rivers and Emma Charles at IMPAKT Festival, Utrecht | Curation
- 2019 Togetherness: Notes on Outrage. Felicity Hammond, Shaun Badham and Polly Tootal at Kestle Barton, Cornwall | Curation
- 2019 And the Earth Screamed Alive! Emma Charles at South Kiosk, London | Curation
- 2019 The Texture of Air. UKRI and Arts Council England | Film
- 2018 On Solid Ground, Saatchi Galleries, London | Film
- 2018 LUX, Artist Residency at Kestle Barton with Ben Rivers | Residency
- 2017 CC Utrillo, Oval Space, London | Film
- 2017 The Hertzian Space: Film Screening at Abandon Normal Devices, UK | Film
