Ben Moore (curator)

Art Below

Moore founded Art Below in 2006 to present contemporary art on space traditionally used for advertising in London Underground stations,^[2][3] debuting as an exhibition of 20 artists across 20 stations, staged by Moore and his younger brother, Simon Moore.^[1] The collective has since grown into an annual display showcasing established and emerging artists, and has collaborated with charities, universities, government and art organisations, with an aim to display progressive and provocative artwork.^[4][5] For a fee, it allows artists to display their artwork on billboard space in the Underground, in line with Moore's belief that people should have the right to display their work in public.^[5] Moore has curated and produced exhibits for Art Below in London, Berlin, Tokyo, Los Angeles and New Orleans.^[5][6] Art Below exhibits have included works by Banksy, Alison Jackson, Charles Bronson, Ben Eine, Antony Micallef, Mat Collishaw, Julie Umerle, Sarah Maple and Johan Andersson.^{[1][5][7][8] [9]}

In 2010, Art Below joined with Peace Strike to create a series of plinth art installations promoting peace in Parliament Square by the Palace of Westminster in London. The first installation, in February 2011, was by special effects artist Tristan "Schoony" Schoonraad, who created a 3D installation depicting child soldiers.^[10] In addition to curating the installation, Moore also created an oil painting for it.^[11]

Art Below's 2014 exhibition Stations of the Cross featured depictions of the Passion of Christ by 14 artists. The exhibition opened at London's St Marylebone Parish Church on March 6, 2014, and ran for 40 days, coinciding with Lent. To coincide with the exhibition, Art Below showcased selected works on billboard space throughout the London Underground at stations that have a symbolic link with the theme.^[12] The exhibition returned in 2015 with works by 20 artists, including a life-sized sculpture of a crucified Pete Doherty, called For Pete's Sake. A collaboration between Doherty, Nick Reynolds and Schoony, it was created in 2008 and publicly displayed for the first time at Stations of the Cross at St Marylebone Parish Church in 2015, curated by Moore.^[13][14][15]

In 2016, Moore curated Queen Themed, an exhibition of contemporary portraits of Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her 90th birthday. Opening at The Tabernacle in London, some of the works were also displayed at London Underground tube stations. It included work by Gavin Turk, Chris Levine, Mr. Brainwash and Goldie.^[16]

In 2017, as part of Art Below's subway series, Anish Kapoor's reworking of Joseph Beuys' 1974 performance art piece I Like America and America Likes Me was unveiled at Union Station in Los Angeles, California. Kapoor titled his self-portrait I Like America and America Doesn't Like Me as a protest against the immigration policies of US President Donald Trump's administration.^[17]

Art Wars

Unforgettable Stormtrooper Helmet

In 2013, Moore teamed up with the charity Missing People to produce Art Wars, an exhibition featuring designs based on the Imperial Stormtrooper helmets and body armour from the Star Wars films. Fourteen artists created replicas and re-imaginings of the helmets, including Damien Hirst, D*Face and Yinka Shonibare.^[3][18] Moore contributed to the exhibit with a melted down and crushed acrylic-capped Stormtrooper helmet.^[19] Andrew Ainsworth, who designed the original Stormtrooper suit, donated a helmet cast from the original 1976 molds for the artists to use.^[3] The exhibit premiered at the Saatchi Gallery in London on October 9, 2013, and posters of the helmets were then displayed by Art Below on billboards at the Regent's Park tube station. A mobile app allowed users to view the designs in 3D.^[3][20]

In December 2016, Moore curated Art Wars Rogue One Exhibition in London, featuring helmets by Anish Kapoor, D*Face and six other artists.^[21]

Other work

In 2010, Moore was commissioned by the Royal Institute of British Architects to create a stop motion film of the "Three Classicists" exhibition, a large architectural drawing by Ben Peantreath, Francis Terry and George Saumarez Smith.^[22][23] That same year, Moore was commissioned to make the documentary A Day in the Life of Dan for the Royal British Legion. The 28-minute film premiered at the East End Film Festival on Remembrance Day.^[1][24]

In 2013, Moore curated Thatcheristic, an exhibit featuring 10 artists' depictions of former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in alternatives to how she has typically been portrayed (including as Queen Victoria and as the Virgin Mary). The exhibit opened at Gallery Different in London on April 17, 2013, the day of Thatcher's funeral.^[25] Participating artists included Moore, Harry Pye, Peter Kennard and Nasser Azam.^[26]

Moore founded the Missing Tom Fund, an organization raising money in search of his older brother Tom, who suffers from mental health issues and went missing in 2003. Many of the art exhibits he curates partially benefit the Missing Tom Fund.^[20][27]