A Leeds Fine Art graduate, Michael Bennett began his career by creating an intimate project documenting his own family, first seen in 1976 at the Impressions Gallery of Photography, York. It toured the UK, was seen at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, and was the subject of a BBC 'Arena' film.

Newspaper and magazine clients have included: The Times, The Independent, The Sunday Times, The BBC, Financial Times, BBC World Service, New Society, and The New Statesman. He had a long association with the satirical magazine Private Eye.
He has worked both as a satirical artist, using composite printing (more usually known as photomontage), and as a documentary photographer.

He has taught photography and photomontage at a number of institutions, including photography schools in Madrid and Barcelona, where he showed photomontage in the 1984 Primavera Fotografica.

The Victoria & Albert Museum acquired the complete works which make up “The Family” exhibition, to add to their collection of Bennett’s work, which includes other pictures from his Welsh project.
A selection of his pictures was shown in “Seaside Photographed” at The Turner Contemporary, Margate (2019) and included in the accompanying book (Val Williams & Karen Shepherdson, Thames & Hudson, 2019).


PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
The Arts Council of Great Britain
National Portrait Gallery, London.
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
National Library of Wales

MEDIA: BBC TV "Arena" arts documentary series (Director: Nigel Williams, Producer: Alan Yentob)

EXHIBITIONS
The Family: Impressions Gallery of Photography, York, 1976
The Family: Gardner Centre, Falmer, 1977 (now Attenborough Centre For the Creative Arts)
The Family: Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 1977
The Family: Photogallery, St Leonards, 1977, Beaney, Canterbury, The Red House, Christchurch, South Hill Park, Bracknell 1977-78
The Road To Barmouth: Oriel Mostyn, Llandudno, 1980
The Road To Barmouth: South Hill Park Arts Centre, 1981
Michael Bennett Photomontage, Primavera Fotografica: Barcelona, 1984
Michael Bennett Photomontage: Visor Gallery, Valencia, 1984
Pier Closing Time: Oriel Mostyn, Colwyn Bay, 2021
Pier Closing Time: Spode Museum, Stoke, 2022
Being There: Linden Hall Studio, Deal, 2023
Being There: Coningsby Gallery, London, 2023

GROUP SHOWS
The Other Britain: Photographs from New Society National Theatre, London, 1982
Didactics: Aspects of Photography Photographs from The V&A Collection: Gardner Centre, Falmer, 1990
The Other Britain Revisited: Photographs from New Society Victoria & Albert Museum, 2010
Things: Victoria & Albert Museum, 2012
Seaside Photographed: Turner Contemporary Museum, Margate, 2019
Winter Group Show: Linden Hall Studio, Deal, 2021
Winter Group Show: Linden Hall Studio, Deal, 2022

COMMISSIONED
Newspapers:
The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Independent on Sunday, The Times Education Supplement, The Times Higher Education Supplement, The Financial Times, The Observer, The Daily Mail

Magazines:
BBC, Private Eye, New Statesman, New Society, New Scientist, Consumers' Association, The Architects’ Journal, Time Out, City Limits, Radio Times, Campaign, Management Today, Gramophone Magazine, Marketing Week, Good Housekeeping, Readers’ Digest, Creative Review, BBC Worldwide, Cover Magazine, Infomatics, Computing, Accountancy Age, Community Care, Euromoney, Nursing Times, Public Finance Magazine, IT Week, Perspectives On Architecture, Airport Magazine, The Times Magazine, Sunday Times Magazine, Money Observer, The Observer Magazine

Television:
The Day Today (Talkback for BBC)

Books:
Random House, Penguin Books, Macmillan Books, Chrysalis Books, Oxford University Press

Advertising & Commercial:
Getty Images, 3iplc, Unilever, Young & Rubicam, Darcy, Ogilvy New York, ARG Talent Agency, Maison76, Ducroqc

PUBLIC ART
Won a competitive commission in 2023 to produce a public sculpture for Deal, Kent, opening 2024