‘Conversation is an exchange but it is also about moving closer to the other, taking steps into a practice that is not yours and which feels alien in some ways. We can only achieve this through questioning, finding common ground, moving away from the familiar and exploring differences. I suggest that we now become even more curious about the practice of the other until it enables us to look at our own practice through the lens of the other.’
Dr Frances Woodley – At Cross Purposes Curator
At Cross Purposes ran between 2019 and 2023, spanning and adapting to the COVID pandemic. The project required that each participating 56grwp member be partnered with another non member artist and engaged with that artist and the curator in a three-way conversation. These conversations culminated in a touring exhibition and an accompanying publication.
56grwp is an exhibiting group of contemporary professional artists. Founded in 1956 in Wales by artists Eric Malthouse, David Tinker and Michael Edmonds, the original aim was to develop a radically different exhibition programme showing work in as many places as possible.