Village Underground
Ben DeVere is an experienced professional in the arts and culture sector, currently serving as a Senior Programmer at MAMA & Company since September 2015, where responsibilities include programming and managing bookings for festivals. As Arts Booker for EartH at Village Underground since March 2018 and Producing Director at Papers Live Ltd since March 2012, Ben also founded Sunday Papers Live. Additional roles include Director at Holmgard Press, managing the literary estate of Joe Dever and producing interactive literary projects, and Producer for The Moth UK, overseeing major storytelling events. Previous experience includes consultancy for urban development strategies at OND and festival production at Secret Productions Ltd. Ben's educational background includes a Bachelor's degree in Scriptwriting for Film & Television from Bournemouth University.
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Village Underground
Village Underground is a multidisciplinary venue presenting live concerts and electronic music events alongside theatre, performing arts and visual arts. VU also plays host to commercial events, the revenue of which is put back into the artistic programme. Each year, VU has an attendance of over 150,000 people, stages more than 500 performances and works with more than 1500 artists. Atop the venue, four recycled Jubilee line trains and shipping containers make up the creative workspaces of Village Underground. These uniquely renovated spaces accommodate up to 30 artists, playwrights, filmmakers, architects, photographers, producers and start ups working side-by-side in a creative community. Village Underground started in 2006, with the aim of building affordable studios for creative people who were struggling to get a foothold in London. Four tube carriages and two shipping containers were converted into co-working spaces. A few months later, the perfect location was found: the top of an old railway viaduct in the middle of Shoreditch, East London. Great Eastern street was closed for the day and they were hoisted into position by crane. Next to the viaduct was an old Victorian warehouse which had been a coalstore for the railway but had fallen into disrepair. We put a roof on it, cleared out the rubbish, sandblasted the walls and laid down a floor to transform it into the venue that we have now. The main renovations took place over a year, just in time for opening in April 2007. Nowadays, our mission is to present the best new culture as it happens and to transform people’s perceptions through inspirational experiences.