Helena Benz
Fire Station Residency
1997-2001
Helena Benz is a British artist. As a practitioner her research investigates architecture, architectural spaces, and the relationship to contemporary art practice. Working predominantly in painting and photography but also employing installation, video and curation, she explores the transitory and contradictory nature of towns, cities and spaces, and addresses the physicality and social history of space. She is interested in informing understanding of the contemporary landscape through examination and exploration of the often overlooked, the perceived unattractive, the lost, forgotten and misplaced.
Recent solo exhibitions include: The Architecture of Pleasure, University Gallery, Blackpool and the Fylde College (2010); Helena Ben-Zenou: Industrial Relations, Buxton Museum & Art Gallery, Rolls-Royce LDC, Derby, Derby Museum & Art Gallery (2006); and Other People’s Palaces, Tower Hamlets Central & Local History Library, London (2000).
In 2005, Helena won the Jonathan Vickers Fine Art Award, and in 2013 she completed a commission, the painting The Bridge, to celebrate Acme’s 40th anniversary.
Fire Station Residency 1997-2001
Acme's residency at the Fire Station is one of the most directly supportive schemes for artists in the United Kingdom, providing combined studio and living space at low rents, as well as a half rent residency for a deaf or disabled artist. This fixed-term residency scheme is intended to allow artists more time to concentrate on the development of their work and professional careers, and less time working to survive. 1997-2001 residents were selected by artists Tracy McKenna, Cornelia Parker, Adam Reynolds, and Acme co-founder Jonathan Harvey.