Ben David is a disability-led artist, curator, broadcaster and arts worker based in Perth, Western Australia.
Working across textiles, sound and multi-sensory experiences, his practice explores nature, accessibility, neurodivergence and alternative ways of engaging with contemporary art. Through hand-tufted textiles, interactive installations and tactile environments, he creates work that invites audiences to connect through touch, sound and embodied experience.
Alongside his artistic practice, Ben works within the disability arts sector supporting artists to develop their careers, realise exhibitions and connect with new audiences. He has curated exhibitions for emerging and established artists, including recent projects with Western Australian artists Ashley Odgers and Julian Poon.
Ben is the creator and host of Tactile Rift, an artist podcast and radio program produced through Radio DADAA. Through interviews with artists with and without disability, the program explores creative practice, process and contemporary culture while amplifying diverse artistic voices.
His recent projects include interactive textile installations, public art commissions, illuminated fibre-optic artworks and tactile sound environments. This body of work continues to evolve through an interest in accessibility, sensory engagement and disability-led approaches to creative practice.
ARTIST – CURATOR – BROADCASTER – ARTS WORKER
CURRENT FOCUS
• Interactive Textile Installations
• Tactile Sound Environments
• Exhibition Curation
• Disability Arts Leadership
• Artist Interviews
SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS
2026 — Threads of Listening
2025 — Illuminated Threads
2024 — Artist Development Award
2024 — Highly Commended, South Perth
C.V.
The City of Melville ParkART 2022
December 2022
- Touch activated tactile sound wall.
– Hand tufted rug wrapped around a tree in Ken Douglas Reserve, Melville.
Strange Festival 2023
June 2023
- Dream Escape
- Two metre round hand tufted rug combined with fibre optic lighting, blending texture and light.
Bayswater Community Art Awards 2023
October 2023
- Floral #1 , Hand tufted rug with fibre optic lights
Fremantle Art Center Bazaar Christmas Markets 2023
December 2023
- Incubator program
Vic Park Compact Sculpture Exhibition
April 2024
- The Wandering Planet, 60cm stainless steel sphere wrapped in a hand tufted rug.
Strange Festival 2024
June 2024
- The Cozy Cube, 80cm hand build frame wrapped with hand tufted rug
City of Belmont Art Awards 2024
August 2024
- Cast Away, Small box made of wood and pure Australia wool.
South Perth Emerging Artist Awards 2024
October 2024
- Our water is life, Hand made tufted rug.
– Winner of the Highly Commended award in the sculpture and textile category.
Melville Art Awards 2024
November 2024
- The Wandering Planet, 60cm stainless steel sphere wrapped in a hand tufted rug.
- Winner of the artist development award.
Box Gallery Manning
August 2025
- Illuminated Threads: A South Perth Skyline
- 10 hand tufted rugs with fibre optic lights installed in South Perth
Perth Royal Art Prize for Landscape in 2025
August 2025
- Stranded Forest, Hand tufted rug, Pure wool