Ben Seymour
Staff details
Ben Seymour's principle areas of research are: 1) the relationship between urban regeneration, gentrification and culture which he has explored in films, articles and visual essays, and 2) the culture and politics of contemporary capitalism from social precariousness and creative economy ideology, to art and financialisation. In addition to teaching, Ben is a writer and deputy editor of Mute magazine.
Professional projects
Ben's films about gentrification, particularly in the London borough of Hackney, have attracted international attention and been screened at The Other Cinema, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Leeds International Festival and galleries, local community screenings and events in UK, Spain, Amsterdam and NYC.
He has been invited to speak on issues from utopian potentialities to the consequences of capital at the Goethe Institute's Serpentine Gallery Sweathshop, Soho Theatre and the Centre for Contemporary Arts Glasgow among others. In 2003, he co-programmed a screening of three films on gentrification at The Other Gallery in Hackney, where his film 'The London Particular' debuted.
He has helped establish and coordinate reading groups on Marx's Capital and contemporary capitalism in Hackney and Brooklyn.
Publications and research outputs
Show/Exhibition
Seymour, Benedict. 2005. ‘ASBO as agent’. In: "TOTAL ASBO show", Pogo Cafe,, United Kingdom.
Conference or Workshop Item
Seymour, Benedict. 2010. 'Principio Potosí. Modernidad y la llamada acumulación originaria.'. In: Principio Potosí. Modernidad y la llamada acumulación originaria. Reina Sofia, United Kingdom.
Article
Seymour, Benedict. 2009. Creativity's Rainbow. MUTE MAGAZINE, 2(14), pp. 100-107. ISSN ISSN 1356-7748-214
Seymour, Benedict. 2006. Drowning by Numbers: The Non-Reproduction of New Orleans. Mute,
Seymour, Benedict. 2006. Introduction: Another Green World. Mute, 2(3), pp. 114-119. ISSN 0955066433
Seymour, Benedict. 2006. Free Speech as Shibboleth: on the Danish Cartoons. Mute, 2(2),
Seymour, Benedict. 2006. Mutiny in the Mainstream. Journal of Visual Culture, 5(1), pp. 112-114. ISSN 14704129
Seymour, Benedict and Iles, Anthony. 2005. The Re-Occupation. Mute,
Seymour, Benedict. 2005. Drawings for ‘Underneath the Knowledge Commons’. Mute, 2(1),
Seymour, Benedict. 2005. Create and/or Be Damned. Mute,
Seymour, Benedict. 2004. ‘Shoreditch: from Shit to Gold – a photo essay’. Greenpepper magazine,
Seymour, Benedict. 2004. An Architecture of Play: A Survey of London's Adventure Playgrounds by Nils Norman, review. Mutella newsletter,
Seymour, Benedict and Kimble, Lucy. 2003. SPECIAL PROJECT: Fear Death by Water (The Regeneration Siege in Central Hackney). Mute, 1(26),
Seymour, Benedict. 2003. The Involuntary Victims of the Aztecs. Mute,
Seymour, Benedict. 2002. Real Politik versus Real Fantasy (Review of the Tate Modern's Border Crossing seminar). Mute,
Seymour, Benedict. 2002. Back to Zero. Mute, 1(21),
Seymour, Benedict. 2002. Review of Bart Wells Gang, Bart Wells Institute. Frieze, 66,
Seymour, Benedict. 2002. Bio-Pics. Mute, 1(23),
Seymour, Benedict. 2002. When Worlds Collide. Frieze, 65,
Seymour, Benedict. 2001. The Last Picture Show. Mute, 1(22),
Seymour, Benedict. 2001. DO THE RIGHT THING! - DIE ANTI-GLOBALISIERUNGS-BEWEGUNG NACH DEM 11. SEPTEMBER. Texte zur kunst, 44, pp. 112-119. ISSN 09409459
Seymour, Benedict. 2001. Blockbusting the Election. Mute, 1(20),
Seymour, Benedict. 2001. Nationalize This! What Next for Anti-Globalization Protests? Radical Philosophy, 107, pp. 2-5. ISSN 0300-211X
Seymour, Benedict. 2001. The Battle of Seattle. Log,
Seymour, Benedict. 2001. Two or Three Things I Know About Her. Mute, 1(19),
Seymour, Benedict. 2001. Review Chad McCail, Laurent Delaye Gallery. Frieze, 57,
Seymour, Benedict. 2001. Review Jeremy Deadman, Five Years. Frieze, 56,
Seymour, Benedict. 2000. Review ‘Club Circuits’. Public Art Journal,
Seymour, Benedict. 2000. Rabble Rousers. Mute, 1(18),
Seymour, Benedict. 2000. Coral Maze. Mute, 1(17),
Seymour, Benedict. 2000. Everything Must Go. Mute, 1(16),
Seymour, Benedict. 2000. Review ‘Wooden Heart’. Art Monthly, 235,
Seymour, Benedict. 1999. Review Henry Bond, Emily Tsingou. Frieze, 54,
Seymour, Benedict. 1999. ‘Rehabilitating the Subject’ – review of The Ticklish Subject by Slavoj Zizek,. Mute, 1(13),
Seymour, Benedict. 1998. The Situationist City. Mute, 1(11),
Book Section
Seymour, Benedict. 2014. Art and the Utopia of (Non-)Reproduction. In: John Chilver and Brighid Lowe, eds. Manual: Parts and Labour. Osan: Gwak Sang-wook, Osan Culture Foundation, pp. 22-23. ISBN 978-89-968948-2-8
Seymour, Benedict. 2013. Primer. In: David Riff; Ekaterina Degott and Jill Winder, eds. Monday Begins on Saturday. Berlin: Sternberg Press, pp. 123-163. ISBN 978-3-943365-74-0
Seymour, Benedict. 2006. Text and images of regeneration mapping project in Else/where: Mapping — New Cartographies of Networks and Territories. In: Janet Abrams and Peter Hall, eds. Else/where: Mapping — New Cartographies of Networks and Territories. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0972969628
Edited Book
Seymour, Benedict, ed. 2006. The Class of the New. Mute. ISBN 978-0955066474
Edited Journal
Seymour, Benedict, ed. 2010. Mute Magazine Vol 2 #15, MUTE MAGAZINE, 2(15). 1356-7748-215
Seymour, Benedict, ed. 2007. It's Not Easy Being Green, Mute, 2(5).
Seymour, Benedict, ed. 2007. Man’s Best Friendster?,, Mute, 2(4).
Seymour, Benedict, ed. 2007. Living in a Bubble: Credit, Debt and Crisis, Mute, 2(6).
Seymour, Benedict, ed. 2006. Naked Cities - Struggle in the Global Slums, Mute, 2(3).
Seymour, Benedict, ed. 2006. Dis-integrating Multiculturalism, Mute, 2(2).
Seymour, Benedict, ed. 2000. britart.com, britart.com, .
Film/Video
Seymour, Benedict. 2017. Dead the Ends.
Seymour, Benedict and Noel-Tod, Matthew. 2014. Can Dialectics Break Gravity? (2014).
Seymour, Benedict. 2007. The London Particular.
Seymour, Benedict. 2007. The occupation.
