About

Footwork is a research group attached to the Walking Artists Network. It draws together an interdisciplinary group of researchers, practitioners and cultural stakeholders to consider questions around walking as a mode of art practice.
The broad aims of the group are:
· To explore the social and cultural function(s) of walking as a dialogic, investigative and performative practice.
· To extend discussion of walking art as a medium with potential to interact with and inform a range of disciplinary perspectives in relation to notions of site, place, participation, mobility, communities, environment and histories.
Footwork is funded by the AHRC’s research networks scheme, and was instigated by Mark Hunter and Clare Qualmann at the University of East London in 2012. The group has an advisory panel: Prof. Phil Crang (Royal Holloway, University of London), Prof. Dee Heddon (University of Glasgow), Dr. Cathy Turner (University of Exeter), Clare Qualmann and Mark Hunter.

The third meeting was held in Hayle, Cornwall, on April 14th and 15th 2015, with a public symposium ‘Where to?’ at Falmouth University in Penryn on the 16th of April. The participants were:

Jess Allen, PhD student at the University of Manchester

Bram Arnold, Artist, PhD Student, Falmouth University

Bibi Calderaro, Artist, NY (USA)

Phil Crang, Professor of Cultural Geography, Royal Holloway University of London

Kris Darby, Post-doctoral teaching fellow at Liverpool Hope University

Katie Etheridge, Live Artist and Performance Maker, Associate Lecturer in Theatre, Falmouth University

Giulia Fiocca, Architect, based in Rome.

Lucy Frears, PhD student in the Academy of Innovation & Research at Falmouth University

Cat Gibbard, Patricipation & Learning Programmer, Newlyn Art Gallery

Rachel Gomme, Interdisciplinary Artist working in performance and installation.

Claire Hind, Associate Professor in Theatre at York St John University

Dee Heddon, Professor of Contemporary Performance at the University of Glasgow.

Stephen Hodge, Head of Drama, University of Exeter

Mark Hunter, Teacher/practitioner in Performing Arts, Institute for Contemporary Music Performance

Alison Lloyd, Artist working with walking and mountaineering

Sacha Kagan, Associate Researcher in Art and Sustainability at the Leuphana University Lueneburg

(Germany)

Blake Morris, PhD student at the University of East London, member of the Walk Exchange

Misha Myers, Performance researcher and practitioner at Falmouth University

Simon Persighetti, Senior Lecturer in Theatre, Falmouth University

Clare Qualmann, Artist, Senior Lecturer in Performing Arts at the University of East London

Phil Smith, Mythogeographer, Researcher, Teacher, Dramaturg

Cathy Turner, Senior Lecturer in Drama at the University of Exeter

Moira Williams, Artist, member of the Walk Exchange (USA)

The second meeting was held at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales on July 10th, 11th and 12th 2014. The participants were:

Jess Allen, PhD student at the University of Manchester
Joss Allen, Shadow Curator intern at Deveron Arts, Scotland
Stine Avlund, Architect and member of the Cultura21 Project, Copenhagen, (Denmark)
Kris Darby, Post-doctoral teaching fellow at Liverpool Hope University
Lucy Frears, PhD student in the Academy of Innovation & Research at Falmouth University
Rachel Gomme, Interdisciplinary Artist working in performance and installation.
Claire Hind, Senior Lecturer in Theatre at York St John University
Mark Hunter, Teacher/practitioner in Performing Arts, Institute for Contemporary Music Performance
Alison Lloyd, Artist working with walking and mountaineering
Karen McCoy, Artist and chair of Sculpture at Kansas City Art Institute, Missouri (USA)
Blake Morris, PhD student at the University of East London, member of the Walk Exchange
Misha Myers, Performance researcher and practitioner at Falmouth University
Clare Qualmann, Artist, Lecturer in Performing Arts at the University of East London
Hilary Ramsden, Independent Researcher and Artivist
Phil Smith, Mythogeographer, Researcher, Teacher, Dramaturg
Moira Williams, Artist, member of the Walk Exchange (USA)

The first full meeting of the Footwork group was held on June 5th and 6th 2013, in the form of a walk from the University of East London’s Docklands Campus in Beckton to Dartford.
The participants were:
Toby Butler, Senior Lecturer in London History and Heritage at the University of East London and Birkbeck.
Kris Darby, researcher-performer based in Exeter.
Giulia Fiocca, Architect, based in Rome.
Lucy Frears, PhD student in the Academy of Innovation & Research at Falmouth University
Rupert Griffiths, PhD student in  the department of Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London
Deirdre Heddon, Professor of Contemporary Performance at the University of Glasgow.
Claire Hind, Senior Lecturer in Theatre at York St John University.
Madeleine Hodge, independent artist, writer and researcher.
Mark Hunter, Teacher/practitioner in Performing Arts, formerly at the University of East London
Nicki Jarvis, artist and freelance arts consultant, producer of the Lincolnshire Wolds Walking Festival
Sacha Kagan, Associate Researcher in Art and Sustainability at the Leuphana University Lueneburg (Germany)
Simone Kenyon, independent artist, facilitator and producer.
Magda Maslach, Undergraduate Research Intern (BA Multimedia), at the University of East London
Clare Qualmann, artist, lecturer in Performing Arts at the University of East London
Hilary Ramsden, independent researcher and artivist
Cathy Turner, Senior Lecturer in Drama at the University of Exeter

A preliminary meeting of the Footwork group was held as part of the Sideways festival in Belgium in September 2012. Find out more about it here: http://walkietalkietoo.wordpress.com