Crossings

Crossings was a multi-disciplinary inquiry drawing on the experience of four artists/researchers thinking through action to explore contemporary crossings. The project investigated experiences of pedestrian engagement in five different urban locations, asking: what effect would the work's advention in public space have on other users of the space; and what could we learn about the urban locations through the movement of and impact on our own bodies. Crossings was created through an iterative practice, with the most highly developed version presented during the Performing Mobilities event, curated by Mick Douglas. This work responded to studies of socially-engaged creative practice in public space, specifically the capacity of such practice to reframe public interaction through subtle changes to people's surroundings. It also took up human geography's increasing concern with 'creative geographies' (Hawkins 2013), and the capacity of creative practice to reveal new insights about urban sites and experiences. The significance of this work is evidenced by its inclusion in Performing Mobilities, a research-driven program of exhibitions, mobile performances and a symposium, that creatively and critically explored forms, forces, dynamics, meanings and consequences of performing mobility through new, experimental works. Additionally, it was performed at the Space Between Light festival, Richmond Housing Estate on 6 and 7 June 2015; the Gertrude Street Projection Festival on 17 July 2015; and at the opening of MoreArt, the City of Moreland public art festival, on 25 October 2015.