Ruth Cross

I'm a practice-based researcher, artist and activist. Through my work with La Bolina (Spain), I developed an embodied research approach with migrant communities in the Plastic Sea—the greenhouse region of Almería—grounded in social phenomenology, community theatre, and arts-based methods. In 2025, I was awarded the Research in Action Fellowship for my ongoing ethical work in translating years of embodied experience into reflexive writing and, critically, into provocative live performance. These performances bring audiences into visceral contact with the realities of migration, labour rights, and food systems, opening space for self-reflection, collective agency, and systemic change. The work on the ground with communities and the performance work with audiences are mutually constituted; the live phenomena of social rupture—both micro and macro—are always at play. I now lead the Space of Beginnings module, supervise new practitioner-researchers, and hold the rotating role of Finance Manager within our community.