Namila Benson is an Australian radio broadcaster, podcaster, and television presenter, known for her work for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, on Radio National and ABC Television. From 2021 to 2023, she hosted a weekly arts show on ABC TV called Art Works, and is the host and co-creator of the ABC TV show The Art Of... that began airing in June 2024.
Early life and education Namila Benson was born in Australia of Papua New Guinean parents. She is a Tolai woman from Rabaul in the East New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea, and was born in Melbourne, Australia.
Her father, Warium Benson, worked as a broadcaster for 36 years with Radio Australia, between 1975 and 2011.
Career Since starting in radio at Melbourne community broadcaster 3CR in the mid-nineties, Benson spent two and a half decades working across a number of media platforms, including as a field reporter on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television arts show, Art Nation, as a producer and presenter on Radio Australia's Pacific Service and presenter on 3RRR FM radio.
Between 2017 and 2019, she worked as a producer on the Radio National mornings program, Life Matters. In 2019, she moved across to presenting and co-producing the national visual arts program, The Art Show, on ABC Radio National.
Between 2021 and 2023, she hosted a weekly arts show on ABC TV named Art Works. Benson hosted 100 episodes of the ABC Television show Art Works across three seasons (2021, 2022 & 2023). Art Works aired on ABC TV and ABC TV Plus, and continues to be viewable on ABC iView.
In November 2023, the ABC announced that Benson would host a new TV arts show, named The Art of... which began airing in June 2024. Benson is the host and co-creator of the ABC TV show The Art Of... that began airing in June 2024.
Benson uses her platform to challenge cultural norms and encourage meaningful discussions. She has been vocal about the need for Australians to engage in "difficult, open, and honest conversations".
Other activities
Benson has acted as a mentor to help young people get into media in Australia and abroad. PDF She has run workshops at radio stations 3CR, SYN, PBS 106.7FM, and 3RRR.
In 2015, she worked in Papua New Guinea, running media training with producers, presenters and journalists from the National Broadcasting Corporation of Papua New Guinea.
In 2019, Benson hosted talks with Jack Charles and various special guests at the Melba Spiegeltent in Melbourne.
She hosted conversations with singer Archie Roach, and renowned First Nations elder, actor, and activist Uncle Jack Charles, at the Stories of Song and Resilience Event in December 2017 at the Sydney Opera House.
In 2019, Wil Anderson featured Benson on episode 151 of his podcast, Wilosophy.
For the 22nd Biennale of Sydney in 2020, titled NIRIN: Art From the Edge, focusing on international contemporary art by First Nations artists, she hosted a six-part podcast series called "Behind the Biennale".
In 2023, Benson hosted the annual Semi-Permanent and Never Permanent design festivals, interviewing speakers including: Sinéad Burke, Mona Chalabi, Mikaela Jade, Liam Young, and others.
In March 2024, she hosted the Australian International Documentary Conference Awards at ACMI, Melbourne.
Benson collaborated with Jack Charles on writing his memoir Jack Charles: Born-Again Blakfella, published on 18 August 2020 by Penguin Books. The memoir was shortlisted by the Australian Book Industry Awards as the 2020 Biography Book of the Year.
List of TV series
Art Works season 1 Benson hosted 33 episodes of the first season of ABC Television show Art Works in 2021, which began airing on ABC TV on 5 March 2021.
Episode Guests and topics Date aired 1 Uncle Jack Charles, Atong Atem, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran 5 May 2021 2 Ziggy Ramo, Airi Ingram 12 May 2021 3 Opera Australia, Mary Quant, Siobhan Reddy, Natalie Aroyan 19 May 2021 4 Museum of Contemporary Art Australia & ABC Classic 100 26 May 2021 5 Miss First Nation & the Ramsay Art Prize 2 June 2021 6 Archibald Prize, Peter Wegner, Guy Warren (artist), Archie 100 9 June 2021 7 Kate Just, Great Woy Woy Tea Cosy Showcase, Andre Sardone 16 June 2021 8 Hilma af Klint, Incognito Art Show, Sue Cramer, Nicholas Chambers 23 June 2021 9 Dark Mofo 2021 30 June 2021 10 Megan Cope, Richard Bell (artist), Brian Robinson and Toby Cedar, NAIDOC Week 2021 7 July 2021 11 Just Not Australian Touring Exhibition 14 July 2021 12 Arts Access Victoria Amplify Festival, Heesco 21 July 2021 13 Maree Clarke, Science Gallery in Melbourne 28 July 2021 14 Supercell Festival of Contemporary Dance, Elisa Jane Carmichael, Sophie Fleming, Kate Usher, Brisbane Comedy Festival 4 August 2021 15 Deborah Cheetham Fraillon, Malthouse Theatre's Because the Night, Scattered, Anna-Wili Highfield 11 August 2021 16 Mo'Ju, Vipoo Srivilasa & The Wellness Deity Project 18 August 2021 17 Maxine Beneba Clarke, New Writers Collective & Alex Lahey 25 August 2021 18 National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Ishmael, Stone Country, Lorraine Kabbindi White, Ida Sophia 1 September 2021 19 Kylie Bracknell (formerly Kylie Farmer), Lucy Irvine, Demolition, Janelle McMillan, Polytoxic 8 September 2021 20 Boy Swallows Universe, Murrniny, Ngaiire 15 September 2021 21 Daniel Lafferty, Deborah Cheetham Fraillon, The Rivers Sing, Sami Shah 22 September 2021 22 Brenton E. McKenna, Mick Turner, Bukhchuluun Ganburged 29 September 2021 23 Claire McArdle, David Moran, Voices of Colour 6 October 2021 24 Lisa Waup, Sally Rees, Yhonnie Scarce, Nicolette Fraillon, Lee Lewis, Dalisa Pigram, Rachael Swain, #KnowMyName 13 October 2021 25 Muster, Terrapin, Dale Woodbridge-Brown 20 October 2021 26 First Nations Fashion and Design 27 October 2021 27 Bukhchuluun Ganburged, Vika and Linda, Jonathan Zawada, Ausmusic Month 3 November 2021 28 Art in the Vines, Patricia Piccinini 10 November 2021 29 OzAsia Festival, Koolbardi wer Wardong 17 November 2021 30 Neo Teen Takeover, Wendy Mocke, Fiona Lee 24 November 2021 31 Jazz Money, Tarnanthi, Serwah Attafuah 1 December 2021 32 Transformation, Time Pass, Baai 8 December 2021 33 La Mama Theatre (Melbourne), Stella Prize 15 December 2021
Art Works season 2 Benson hosted 37 episodes of the second season of ABC Television show Art Works in 2022 which began airing on ABC TV on 16 March 2022.
Episode Guests and topics Date aired 1 Summer Arts Festivals, Arts Washing. Featuring Rachael Maza, Gabrielle de Vietri, Ali Murphy-Oates, Joshua Thompson, Sera Waters, Daniel Jaber 16 March 2022 2 Dean Cross x Sidney Nolan, Eucalyptusdom, Adrienne Doig 23 March 2022 3 Lorne Sculpture Biennale, Biennale of Sydney, Daina Sgarioto, Tamara Bekier 30 March 2022 4 WOMADelaide, Jaslyn Hall, Alex Seton, Parvyn Singh, Dya Singh 6 April 2022 5 Marco Fusinato, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Louise Coghill, Frida Las Vegas 6 April 2022 6 Bundanon, Aretha Brown, Emma Donovan, Graeme McCullough 13 April 2022 7 AQAL, David Quirk, Caitlin Yeo, Sky Song 20 April 2022 8 National Indigenous Art Triennial, Sammy Hawker, Keva York 27 April 2022 9 Safa El Samad, Gabbi Bolt, Jordan Benson 4 May 2022 10 Venice Biennale, Deborah Kelly, Marco Fusinato, Parrtjima, Christopher Zanko 11 May 2022 11 Lissette Endacott, Katie West, Tamworth Country Music Festival 18 May 2022 12 Sydney Writers Festival, Chelsea Watego, Clementine Ford, Debra Keenahan, Eliza Hull, Nils Frahm, Tony Birch 25 May 2022 13 Australian Fashion Week, Dylan Mooney, Nicol & Ford, Alicia Crossley, Great Southern Dance, Dan Golding 1 June 2022 14 Vivid Sydney, Luca French, Billie Robertson, Sue Cato, Tiyan Baker, Tully Arnot, Amani Haydar, Cut N Polish 8 June 2022 15 Rising (arts festival), Zeina Thiboult, Luke Arnold & Richard Tognetti 15 June 2022 16 Sampa the Great, Rising (arts festival), Benjamin Law and Vanessa Alexander 22 June 2022 17 Dylan Mooney, Emma Donovan, Aretha Brown, Katie West and the National Indigenous Art Triennial 29 June 2022 18 Christopher Zanko, Sammy Hawker, Graeme McCullough, Bundanon Art Museum and Parrtjima Festival 6 July 2022 19 Dark Mofo, Alex Podger, Naomi Hobson, Cement Fondu, Stephanie Lake, Robin Fox and Phoenix Central Park 13 July 2022 20 Brisbane Street Art Festival, Jess Ribeiro, Second Echo Ensemble, Outside Boy and Miles Brown 20 July 2022 21 Back to Back Theatre, Noah Johnson, Soft Centre and S.J Norman 27 July 2022 22 Arts Week, Looking for Alibrandi, Megan Cope and the National Gallery of Victoria's Queer Exhibition 10 August 2022 23 Gay Hawkes, Abdul Abdullah, Dr Josh Harle, Tactical Space Lab, BLEACH and the Royal Theatre Winton 17 August 2022 24 Del Kathryn Barton, Blaze, Zahra Elham, Afghan Star, Sarah L'Estrange, the Miles Franklin Award 24 August 2022 25 Fangirls, Yve Blake, Kirli Saunders, The Minties, Omar Sakr, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Blaze, Eunice Andrada & the National Poetry Month Gala 31 August 2022 26 Sydney Theatre Company, Bharatanatyam, Rukshikaa Elankumaran, Matthew Backer, Kip Williams, Rosie Dennis, Christine Johnston, Jordan Morrison, The Scramble Project 7 September 2022 27 Anna Cordell, Whitefella Yella Tree, Dylan Van Den Berg, Callen Purcell, Guy Simon, Vanessa Tomlinson, Cat Jones 14 September 2022 28 Dr Fiona Foley, COVID sonification, Dr Mark Temple, Holly Greenwood, Broome Performing Arts Co-Op, Justine De Bruyn, Amanda Riley 21 September 2022 29 Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Somebody's Daughter, Fiona Hall & AJ King 30 Brisbane Festival & Club Weld, Dr Anita Heiss, The House of Alexander, Nina Gotsis, Olana Janfa, Jerrah Patston, Sam Worrad, Charbel Nehme, Club Weld, Joseph Williams, Erica Izett, Rupert Betheras 5 October 2022 31 Waru, Janice Wong, Nadurna, Ben Nguyen, Hunter Page-Lochard 12 October 2022 32 Virginia Gay, Cyrano, William Barton, Aunty Delmae Barton, Donna Kendrigan, David Humphries, Handmade Universe at the State Library of Victoria 19 October 2022 33 Rodney Bell, Alter State, Rooke Circus, Luke Whitten 26 October 2022 34 Jonathon Oxlade, The Australian Ballet, Tasman Keith, Keva York 2 November 2022 35 Bell Shakespeare, Gerwyn Davies, Kurt Boseke, FUNPARK arts festival 9 November 2022 36 Maria Tran, Gemma Black, Night Songs, Unpopular at the Powerhouse Museum, Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art 16 November 2022 37 Bangarra Dance Theatre, AI Art, Matt Hsu's Obscure Orchestra, Heather Rose 23 November 2022
Art Works season 3 Benson hosted and/or appeared on the following episodes of the third season of ABC Television show Art Works in 2023: