Helen is Interim Head of the Media Department and Associate Professor in Film and Media. Helen teaches on the BA Film programme. She is also Academic Lead on the Changing the Culture Initiative: Shifting attitudes, values and behaviours and creating more inclusive and tolerant communities. She coordinated the Media Department's involvement in "No Home for Hate", funded by the HEFCE Catalyst Fund, in 2017/18. Building on this work, Helen works with CCI to bring these agendas into the curricula to increase student engagement and awareness around EDI in ways that are meaningful and transformative. Partnership projects with the VCPB, Safe4Faith with the Metropolitan Police, ThriveLdn for World Mental Health Day, have resulted in KE projects for and with our students.
Helen is an artist/filmmaker working predominantly in film, her practice is anchored around intimate narratives: often understated or tacitly conveyed, often working with marginalised or minoritised voices.
PhD by Public Works, Middlesex University
PG Cert in Higher Education, University of Central Lancashire
MA Fine Art, Manchester Metropolitan University
BA (Hons) Fine Art, University of Brighton
Art Direction for Film & Television Film Design International, Pinewood Film Studios under Terry Ackland-Snow
Diploma in Management, Chartered Management Institute, Manchester Business School
Helen teaches on the BA Film programme and specialises in Art Direction for Film.
Her teaching and learning interests are:
She coordinated the Media Department's involvement in "No Home for Hate", funded by the HEFCE Catalyst Fund, in 2017/18. Building on this work, Helen works with CCI to bring these agendas into the curricula to increase student engagement and awareness around EDI in ways that are meaningful and transformative. Partnership projects with the VCPB, Safe4Faith with the Metropolitan Police, ThriveLdn for World Mental Health Day, Barnet Mencap, Why me? Restorative Justice, have resulted in KE projects for and with our students.
Bendon, Helen and Lukic, Vesna (2022) Embedding impact in collaborative filmmaking processes: a case study. Media Practice and Education , 23 (2). pp. 188-194. ISSN 2574-1136 (Published online first)
Bendon, Helen (2018) The artist as historyteller within museum and heritage sites. [Doctorate by Public Works]
Bendon, Helen and Butt, Maggie (2015) Time stands still. [Digital artefact]
Parry, Nye and Bendon, Helen and Boyd Davis, Stephen and Moar, Magnus (2009) Moving tales, exploring narrative strategies for scalable locative audio drama. In: ISEA09 International Symposium on Electronic Art, 23 Aug - 01 Sep 2009, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Bendon, Helen (2009) The role of art practice within VivaCity2020. In: Designing sustainable cities. Cooper, Rachel and Evans, Graeme and Boyko, Christopher , eds. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, pp. 263-278. ISBN 9781405179157
No Home for Hate, (HEFCE). Role: bid contributor and academic lead. Catalyst project embedding a response to UUK's 2016 'Changing the Culture' report in existing academic frameworks within the Media department, 2017/18.
Alexandra Palace Learning Zone, (HLF). Role: contributor and Media lead, collaborating with Dr. Andy Bardill and Dr. Kate Herd (Faculty of Science and Technology). Delivered a flexible programme of teaching artefacts and films for secondary school STEAM activities on site at Alexandra Palace, 2018-2020.
The Raising of the Dornier 17, (Royal Air Force Museum). Role: Co-I with Andy Bardill, Kate Herd and Bob Fields (Faculty of Science and Technology). Delivered an interpretation zone at the RAFM Cosford site, including a website, 3-screen video installation and app). The project was extended for the Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen, 2011-2014.
Alexandra Palace: War on the Home Front, (HFL). Role: Project lead, app writer/director. Delivered a WWI centenary locative project designed to provide an aural experience to visitors of Alexandra Palace and Park centred on the history of the site as a Prison Camp in WWI. 2013-2015
Vivacity 2020 (EPSRC) Role: Artist Researcher. Delivered film works, installations, public talks and symposium presentations and book chapter for £2.75M EPSRC funded project (PI Prof Rachel Cooper, Lancaster University) 2005-2008.
Working alongside Ben Serlin, Helen has been working on KE projects as part of the Changing the Culture Initiative at Middlesex Univeristy, partnering with organisations such as AVA, Met Police, Violent Crime Prevention Board, Barnet Mencap and Why Me? Restorative Justice on initiatives to promote positive inclusive campaigns and practices through partnership projects.
Working with Middlesex colleagues Dr Maggie Butt and Dr Magnus Moar on Time Stands Still, Helen led a locative audio experience for Alexandra Palace to explore the narratives around the Palace's use as a prison camp in the First World War. The locative experience is available via an app for members of the public to hear the letters, memoirs and dramatisations of accounts of prisoners and soldiers based at the camp, alongside poems by Maggie Butt from her book Ally Pally Prison Camp, which evoke some of the complexities of internment.
Helen has previously worked as a Research Artist with Vivacity2020, and AUNT-SUE, two large EPSRC-funded research projects to explore and interrogate the project research strands from a creative perspective, and interested in working with these established methods on other projects to push the boundaries and also the dissemination of academic research.
