sometimes we want to fight things that are naturally how life goes, and there's nothing you can do about it, you accept your fate
beat by Bailsxc

Letter To Old Me - Interlude (BEAT by Bailsxc)

Who said getting the groceries had to be boring?

Epic grocery shop

Grace Benham doesn’t just look at art — she listens to it. A curation assistant at a London art and design studio, she sees exhibitions as stories with rhythm and flow, like tracks on a playlist. For her, curation is about turning spaces into places where artworks, like voices, can be heard in harmony.

Storytelling is Grace’s superpower. In her interview with Arts and Culture Network founder Mark Walmsley, she spoke of giving artworks a voice, connecting the past to the present, and rewriting narratives that have long excluded women. One of her guiding influences is Katie Hessel’s The Story of Art Without Men, a book that echoes her commitment to championing overlooked female artists.

This passion has taken shape in a bold proposal: a global league table ranking countries on their recognition of female artists. Inspired by an Italian foundation, Grace suggested starting with Ireland, praising the National Gallery’s recent strides in showcasing women. For her, the project is like remixing the cultural canon — adjusting the mix so that women’s voices rise to the front.

Her Fantasy Cultural Year unfolded like a playlist of experiences:

Florence for Uffizi mornings and opera evenings.

Berlin for folk dance and experimental art.

Porto for Caravaggio reimagined through digital media.
And in London, a weekly rhythm of musicals, concerts, and opera — revisiting her own first tracks: Britten’s Young People’s Guide to the Orchestra and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Music remains central for Grace. She is drawn to female singer-songwriters who bring honesty and wit to their craft, with CMAT a current favourite. Her post-lockdown anthem? Hozier, whose soulful lyrics capture both intimacy and protest.

Grace’s personality carries a playful beat. In a rapid-fire “this or that” game, she came across as a coffee-loving, Mac-using, comedy fan who prefers reggae to rock, museums to malls, motorbikes to cars. These details give her a rhythm that is relatable and real.

Why does Grace belong on SoundCloud? Because her work is about amplifying unheard voices. She curates like a DJ, adjusting balance and tone, remixing the canon, and ensuring no voice is lost in silence. She is not just a curator of exhibitions but a curator of culture itself.

Grace Benham may be early in her career, but her vision is already striking: inclusive, imaginative, and deeply attuned to the sounds of history and change.

Listen closely. You’ll hear it: a new beat in the cultural conversation.

Mark Walmsley FRSA AGSM
✨ Chief of Stuff | Arts & Culture Network
🌐 https://www.artsandculturenetwork.com/
📩 mark.walmsley@ArtsAndCultureNetwork.com
🌍 175,000 | Global | Growing

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Grace Benham: A Curator’s Voice for Change

Mark.walmsley

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