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BEN MESSIH


ABOUT

Ben Messih is an educator and organiser working with children, young people, and their communities.

Ben initiated and co-runs the Big Family Press, a child-led risograph printing press inspired by the radical pedagogy of Elise and Celestin Freinet’s L’Ecole Moderne. The Big Family Press is currently based at Rabbits Road, east London.

Ben was raised on the stolen land of the Bidjigal (Bediagal) people of the Eora Nation and he pays his respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.  


CONTACT

ben[dot]messih[at]gmail[dot]com


SELECTED CV

Curator:
Fire Station Programme
South London Gallery
2017 - 2020

Assistant Curator:
Education & Projects
Serpentine Galleries
2014 - 2017; 2021

Programme Manager:
Art & Dementia Programme
The 19th Biennale of Sydney
2013 - 2014


SELECTED EDUCATION

MA:
Curating & Cultural Leadership
University of New South Wales
2015

BA:
Visual Arts & Design
Australian Catholic University
2008
SOME THINGS I HAVE DONE


CURRENT

Big Family Press
w/ Sadie St Hilaire, Rosalie Schweiker, &  OOMK.
Rabbits Road Press

South London Gallery
2021 - 

2017 - 2020


SELECTED DURATIONAL COMMISSIONS


Jay Bernard:
Crystals of this Social Substance
Serpentine Galleries
2021


Down, Up, Down, Up:
Social Social-Distancing School
Goldsmiths CCA
2020
Dundee Print Collective:
Type Town
South London Gallery
2020
Millie Nice:
Bad Drawing Club
South London Gallery      
2020
Cherelle Sappleton:
Mish-Mash
South London Gallery
2019 - 2020
Anna Merryfield and Shamica Ruddock:
The Archive is Personal
South London Gallery   
2018 - 2020
The Big Family Press:
South London Story Lab
South London Gallery  
2018 - 2020

Keg de Souza:
Convivial City
South London Gallery
2019

Flavour Cravers:
We’re All Professional Chefs Here
South London Gallery
2019
Rosalie Schweiker:
How to Have Fun
South London Gallery
2019
Ed Webb-Ingall:
The Archive is Political
South London Gallery
2018 - 2019
Rosalie Schweiker:
Hello Anyone Who Receives This Message
South London Gallery
2018

Rory Pilgrim:
The Resounding Bell
South London Gallery
2017 - 2018
OOMK:
The Big Family Press
South London Gallery
2017 - 2018
agencyforagency:
Art-Work
Serpentine Galleries
2017

Bahbak Hashemi-Nezhad:
On What Grounds
Serpentine Galleries
2016 - 2017
Albert Potrony:
Play As Radical Practice
Serpentine Galleries
2016 - 2017

Adam James:
Here Is The Place
Serpentine Galleries
2016 - 2017
agencyforagency:
The Lexicon of Labour
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Implicated Theatre:
ACT ESOL: Language, Resistance, Theatre
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Harold Offeh:
Who Has the Power?
Serpentine Galleries
2016


Bahbak Heshemi-Nezhad:
Church Street Local Projects Shelf
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Bedfellows:
The Making Of...
Serpentine Galleries
2016
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Paul Maheke:
The Perfect School
Serpentine Galleries
2015 - 2016
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Anton Kats:
For A Walk With:
Dementia In The City
Serpentine Galleries
2015 - 2016
︎︎︎
Alia Farid:
A Stage For Any Revolution
Serpentine Galleries
2015

Implicated Theatre:
Our Story
Serpentine Galleries
2015
Implicated Theatre:
We Are Implicated, So Are You...
Serpentine Galleries
2015   

Invisible Spaces of Parenthood: Shapes
Serpentine Galleries
2014 - 2015
Febrik:
Action of Street / Action of Room   
Serpentine Galleries
2014 - 2015
The Art & Dementia Programme
The 19th Biennale of Sydney
2013 - 2014
Hiromi Hotel:
Moon Jellies
Hazelhurst Regional Gallery
2012 - 2013



SELECTED TALKS, WORKSHOPS & EVENTS

Family Day:
OOMK: Money Machine       
Serpentine Galleries       
2021

Histories in Focus:
What Could Have Been?
South London Gallery
2020

Grow Our Histories:
Everything Here, Everyone Here
South London Gallery
2020

National Programmes Conference:
The Big Family Press
The British Museum
2019
Communal Lunch
With Jordi Ferreiro & Eva Rowsen
Lighthouse, Brighton
2019
Syllabus IV Workshop
With Rosalie Schweiker
Eastside Projects
2019
Walk-It, Talk-It:
The Bookplace 
South London Gallery
2019
Rosalie Schweiker & Heiba Lamara:
How to Make A Book
South London Gallery
2019
Shy Bairns:
Nothing Made Sense
South London Gallery
2019
Rory Pilgrim: The Resounding Bell Episode 7: As Close to the Future As Possible
South London Gallery
2018
The Big Family Press:
With the Patchwork Archivists
South London Gallery
2018
The Big Family Press:
With Making Happy Places
South London Gallery
2018
The Big Family Press:
With Rosalie Schweiker
South London Gallery
2018
Family Weekend:
Jenny Moore: Lung Songs
Serpentine Galleries   
2017
Cracks In the Curriculum:
Frances Rifkin: Reclaiming Shakespeare
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Cracks In the Curriculum:
Octavia Poetry Collective:
Poetry From The Personal
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Cracks In the Curriculum:
Bedfellows: Sex (re)Education
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Unwritten Handbook:
Anton Kats
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Unwritten Handbook:
Paul Maheke
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Unwritten Handbook:
Harold Offeh
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Unwritten Handbook:
Bedfellows
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Family Weekend:
Katie Schwab: Dear Friends,
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Family Weekend:
Renata Bandeira: Form, Perform, Transform, Go!
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Family Day:
Joceline Howe: Haus Party
Serpentine Galleries   
2016
Family Day:
Marie O’Connor: A Line Is A Dot That Went For A Walk
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Family Day:
Radio-Anti: Foleyage - A Park Made Of Sound
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Radio Ballads:
Patrick Farmer, Frances Rifkin & Implicated Theatre
Serpentine Galleries   
2016
Ideas Through Art:
Harold Offeh: Broadcast
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Ideas Through Art:
Anna Lucas: Assemblage
Serpentine Galleries
2015
Ideas Through Art:
Natasha Soobramanien: Labour
Serpentine Galleries
2015

Unwritten Handbook:
Invisible Spaces of Parenthood
Serpentine Galleries   
2015
James Holcombe & the Dead Rat Orchestra: Tyburnia
Serpentine Galleries   
2015
Family Day:
Invisible Spaces of Parenthood: Our Play, Our Party, Our Work!
Serpentine Galleries
2015   
Family Day:
Larry Achiampong: Assembled Identities     
Serpentine Galleries
2015
Family Day:
Holly White: Film-In-A-Day
Serpentine Galleries
2015
Family Day:
Julia Tcharfas: A Space Base, For Instance
Serpentine Galleries
2015
Family Day:
Jenny Moore: Short-Lived Sculpture
Serpentine Galleries
2015
Family Day:
Anthony Hall: Animating Objects
Serpentine Galleries
2014
Something to Write Home About
Hazelhurst Regional Gallery
2013


SELECTED PUBLICATIONS & RESOURCES

Listening to the City Pack:
Jay Bernard with OOMK: DOSH
Serpentine Galleries       
2021

Walk-It, Talk-It:
001 Elizabeth Lander; 
002 Peter Willis & Laura Fitton; 
003 Carole Wright & Reena Makwana.
South London Gallery
2020

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002 ︎︎︎
003 ︎︎︎
Big Family Press Self-Publishing Resources:
006 Jacob V Joyce
007 Saffa Khan 
008 Rudy Loewe 
009 Reena Makwana
010 Aleesha Nandhra
011 Rhiannon Hunter
012 Sofia Niazi 
013 Emily Rand 
014 ShyBairns 
015 Soofiya 
016 Olivia Twist
017 Lena Yokoyama A
018 Lena Yokoyama B 
019 ZEEL 
South London Gallery
2018 - 2020
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Narration Group:
Curriculum For Collective Practice
South London Gallery
2019
︎︎︎ ︎︎︎
Rosalie Schweiker:
How To Have Fun
South London Gallery
2019
Rosalie Schweiker:
Hello Anyone Who Receives This Message
South London Gallery
2019
Shy Bairns:
Nothing Made Sense
South London Gallery
2019
OOMK:
Big Family Press Self-Publishing Resources
South London Gallery
2018
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001 ︎︎︎
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003 ︎︎︎
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Architecture Family Pack:
Katie Schwab: A Portable Mural
Serpentine Galleries   
2017
Albert Potrony:
Play As Radical Practice Toolkit
Serpentine Galleries
2017
︎︎︎ ︎︎︎
Adam James:
Here Is The Place Toolkit
Serpentine Galleries
2017
︎︎︎ ︎︎︎
Paul Maheke:
The Perfect School? Toolkit
Serpentine Galleries
2017
︎︎︎ ︎︎︎
Febrik:
Directory of Public Actions
Serpentine Galleries
2016
︎︎︎ ︎︎︎
Studies On A Road Pamphlet Series
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Architecture Family Pack:
Anna Lucas: Loose Parts Kit
Serpentine Galleries
2016
agencyforagency:
The Lexicon of Labour
Serpentine Galleries
2016
Architecture Family Pack:
Nefeli Skarmea
Serpentine Galleries
2015
Invisible Spaces of Parenthood:
Shapes Toolkit

Serpentine Galleries
2015


SELECTED RESEARCH & EVALUATION
Future of the Left:
Participatory Residency Programme Evaluation
Gasworks London
2019 - 2021
   
Back to the Bookplace
South London Gallery
2019