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Benedict Blackstone Evans CBE (born September 1963) is a British designer, currently the director of the London Design Festival , ^[1] and Executive Director of London Design Biennale, ^[2] which he co-founded with Sir John Sorrell in 2003 and 2016 consecutively. ^[3] He is an advocate and campaigner for the creative industries. ^{[4] [5]}

Career [ edit ]

The son of Tom Evans and Tessa Blackstone, Baroness Blackstone , Ben Evans is director of the London Design Festival , ^{[6] [7] [8]} which he co-founded in 2003, and co-produces with Sir John Sorrell . ^[7] The Festival is an annual event involving 300 partner organisations and attracts over 900,000 individual visits. As well as managing the Festival, Evans initiates, commissions and curates projects ^[9] for the event including an annual residency in the V&A museum ; ^[10] along with directing Global Design Forum. ^[11]

In 2016 he added a new activity ? London Design Biennale ^[12] ? with the third edition taking place in September 2020. This biannual exhibition, staged at Somerset House , invited participating countries and cities to exhibit original design installations in response to a theme. Installations were curated by museums and design organisations. Evans is the Executive Director of the Biennale.

Evans has been a governor of the University of the Arts London , ^[13] a board member of the Roundhouse , ^{[ citation needed ]} and a trustee of Artangel . ^[14] Since 2017 Evans has become Chairman of the Mayor's Cultural Leaders Board ^[15] ?a statutory advisory group to the London Mayor .

Honours and awards [ edit ]

In 2010 Evans was awarded an honorary degree from the Royal College of Art , ^[16] having lectured there for a number of years, and graduated from in 1989 with a MA in History Of Design. ^{[ citation needed ]}

In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours , Evans was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the creative industries. ^[17]

Personal life [ edit ]

Evans was born in London. ^[18] He married architect Amanda Levete in 2007 and has 3 children from his previous marriage. He is the son of Tom Evans and Tessa Blackstone . ^[19] Evan is an Arsenal F.C. fan. He developed a keen interest in architecture and design upon attending a lecture delivered by Richard Rogers at the age of 15. ^[20]

References [ edit ]