Ruth Cross

Grounded in social phenomenology and arts-based methods, my writing, performance work, and public events bring experiences of migration, labour rights, and food systems into visceral contact with audiences, opening space for reflection, agency, and embodied learning. Within this practice, I explore the ethical translation of lived experience and have repeatedly found myself navigating how to act when rupture appears—moments when unspoken histories of power surface and the relational field shifts. This led me to focus on how rupture can be recognised as a live social phenomenon and met with awareness, discernment, and relational responsibility. In 2025, I was awarded the Research in Action Fellowship for this ongoing work, which I have since translated into an embodied mentoring approach, Rupture, Reframed, supporting educators, leaders, and organisers working in high-pressure political, social, and ecological contexts. I am Community Convenor of the Research-in-Action community, co-lead the Space of Beginnings module with Anna Lena Hanh, supervise new practitioner-researchers, and hold the rotating role of Finance Manager.