Biography
David Cross is Professor of Visual Arts at Deakin. Working as an artist, curator and writer, his practice extends across performance, installation, sculpture, public art and video. Known for his examination of risk, pleasure and participation, Cross often utilises inflatable structures to negotiate inter-personal exchange. He has performed in international live art festivals in Poland and Croatia and was selected as a New Zealand representative at the 2011 Prague Quadrennial. Cross was commissioned by National Institute of Experimental Art/City of Sydney to develop Drift, a large-scale public art commission for Taylors Square in Sydney (2011) and his installation Lean was included in The Aberrant Object at Wellington City Art Gallery (2012). His work Hold was selected for inclusion in Liveworks at Performance Space, Sydney in 2010 and featured as part of the Arts House season in the Melbourne International Festival in October 2012. More recently he was commissioned by Scape Public Art 7 curator Blair French to develop Level Playing Field, a temporary intervention that fused sport, performance and sculpture in Christchurch. A monograph of his work Air Supplied was published by Punctum Books, Los Angeles in 2018.
As a curator and public art facilitator he developed with Claire Doherty the One Day Sculpture project across New Zealand in 2008/9 featuring 30 international artists including Thomas Hirschhorn, Superflex, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Paula Pivi. In 2011 he was CAST Tasmania's international curatorial resident. From this project he curated Iteration:Again 13 Public Art Projects Across Tasmania examing the idea of repetition and transformation in temporary public art and featuring 20 local and international artists. He has edited internationally published books on the aforementioned projects and writes regularly on contemporary art for international publications.In 2017 he co-founded with Cameron Bishop the research initiative Public Art Commission (PAC) at Deakin University which is devoted to the commissioning and scholarship of temporary public art. Recent PAC projects all co-developed with Cameron Bishop include, Treatment with Melbourne Water and City of Wyndham (2015. 2017, 2021), Venetian Blind with European Cultural Centre, Venice (2019), Six Moments in Kingston for the City of Kingston (2019) Front Beach Back Beach {Cameron Bishop and Danny Lacy} (2022) and Treatment 3 (2023). Cross is currently Professor of Visual Arts and Research Leader of the new research initative Public Exchange Bureau @ Deakin
Read more on David's profilePublications
Treatment 3 Public Art Project
Cameron Bishop, David Cross
(2023), Multiple Venues from Scienceworks and public sites in Spotswood, Altona Nth and Brooklyn, JC2
Treatment Night and Day Public art Project
Cameron Bishop, David Cross, Maria Bates
(2023), Western Treatment Plant, JC2
David Cross, David Cross, Cameron Bishop, Cameron Bishop
(2022), Assorted Venues Across Mornington Peninsula, JC2
Front Beach Back Beach- Exhibition @MPRG
David Cross, Cameron Bishop, Danny Lacy
(2022), Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, JC2
Unfettered Actions: Sportification, Playgrounds and Public Art
David Cross
(2021), Vol. 41, pp. 96-104, Artlink, Henley Beach, S. Aust., C1
On task: De-Limit, dance and the performance of menial action
David Cross
(2021), Vol. 12, pp. 135-151, Choreographic Practices, Bristol, Eng., C1
A pleasant coach journey across the political frontier: Public art and suburban dissensus
David Cross, Cameron Bishop
(2019), Vol. 8, pp. 147-161, Art & the Public Sphere, Bristol, Eng., C1
cameron Bishop, david Cross, Anne Wilson
(2019), Palazzo Bembo, European Cultural Centre, 58th Venice Biennale, JO1
D Cross
(2018), pp. 24-31, Craftivism: dissident objects and subversive forms, Melbourne, Vic., B1
The difficult second record: participatory art after The Zeitgeist
D Cross
(2017), pp. 150-155, Civic actions: artists' practices beyond the museum, Sydney, N.S.W., B1
Treatment: 6 public artworks at Melbourne Water
D Cross
(2017), pp. 81-94, Treatment : six public artworks at the Western Treatment Plant, Melbourne, Vic., B1
Contexts of generosity: making resilient public art
D Cross
(2017), AAANZ 2017 : Art and the changing nature of place : Proceedings of the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand Annual Conference 2017, Perth, W.A., E1
C Bishop, D Cross
(2017), pp. 1-10, ACUADS 2017 : Value : Proceedings of the ACUADS 2017 Conference, Acton, A.C.T., E1
Treatment: 6 Public Artworks at Western Treatment Plant
D Cross, C Bishop
(2015), Western Treatment Plant, Werribee, J1
Level playing field : , temporary public art commission for Scape 7
D Cross
(2013), Christchurch, New Zealand, J1-1
LifeX4: on iterating public art
D Cross
(2013), pp. 11-24, Iteration: again : 13 public art projects across Tasmania, Brooklyn, New York, J1-1
Tactical pragmatism : the elasticity of performance
D Cross
(2012), pp. 24-35, Made active : the Chartwell Show, Auckland, N.Z., B1-1
Portfolio : Iteration : Again 13 Public Art Projects Across Tasmania
D Cross, F do Campo, N Durling, S Jones, F Lee, D Quilliam, P Silva, J Stewart
(2011), Hobart, Tasmania, J1-1
Portfolio : One Day Sculpture, New Zealand 2008-09
D Cross, C Doherty
(2011), Wellington, New Zealand, J1-1
Just enough and no more : the careful art of modification
D Cross
(2010), pp. 27-31, Shifting continuities, Bulleen, Vic., B1-1
Days like these : temporality, place and social engagement
D Cross
(2009), pp. 85-92, Spaces of art : institutional and post-institutional practices in contemporary art, Wooloomooloo, N.S.W., B1-1
One day sculpture: a curatorial overview
D Cross, C Doherty
(2009), pp. 7-16, One day sculpture, Bielefeld, Germany, J1-1
Venetian Blind
David Cross, Cameron Bishop
(), J2
Funded Projects at Deakin
Other Public Sector Funding
Treatment: 6 Public Artworks at Western Treatment Plant
Prof David Cross, A/Prof Cameron Bishop
Creative Victoria, Wyndham City Council
- 2016: $10,000
- 2015: $10,000
University Square- City of Melbourne Curatorial Proposal- Professor David Cross
Prof David Cross, A/Prof Cameron Bishop
City of Melbourne Grant - Research
- 2016: $3,563
Metro Tunnel Cultural Strategy
Prof David Cross, A/Prof Cameron Bishop
Melbourne Metro Rail Authority
- 2017: $67,680
- 2016: $16,920
Treatment '17 - Contemporary Art Installation and Interpretation of the Western Treatment Plant
A/Prof Cameron Bishop, Prof David Cross
MWC Grant - Research - Melbourne Water Corporation
- 2017: $20,000
Treatment 2: 10 Public Artworks at Western Treatment Plant
Prof David Cross, A/Prof Cameron Bishop
Wyndham City Council
- 2017: $15,000
Citizen Act (in three parts: colour, movement and consciousness)
A/Prof Cameron Bishop, Prof David Cross
Creative Victoria
- 2017: $3,000
Seven Moments in Kingston Town.
Prof David Cross, A/Prof Cameron Bishop
Kingston City Council
- 2018: $6,300
Six Moments in Kingston.
Prof David Cross, A/Prof Cameron Bishop
Kingston City Council
- 2019: $23,400
Treatment: Waste and Opportunity - Hobsons Bay West Gate Neighbourhood Fund
A/Prof Cameron Bishop, Prof David Cross
Victorian Government West Gate Neighbourhood Fund Partnerships
- 2024: $12,919
- 2022: $130,575
City of Ballarat Public Art Strategy Consultation.
A/Prof Cameron Bishop, Prof David Cross
City of Ballarat
- 2021: $10,000
Front Beach Back Beach
Prof David Cross, A/Prof Cameron Bishop
Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallary
- 2022: $20,000
HV McKay Gardens Brimbank Sculpture consultancy.
A/Prof Cameron Bishop, Prof David Cross
Brimbank City Council
- 2022: $2,000
Greening the Pipeline (Wyndham City) Curatorial Consultation for Two Permanent Public Artworks.
A/Prof Cameron Bishop, Prof David Cross
Wyndham City Council
- 2022: $18,086
Front Beach Back Beach - Stage 2
Prof David Cross, A/Prof Cameron Bishop
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council
- 2022: $200,000
Treatment III - Public Art Project (Wyndham)
A/Prof Cameron Bishop, Prof David Cross, Mrs Maria Bates
Wyndham City Council
- 2023: $40,000
Greening the Pipeline Public Art Commissions.
A/Prof Cameron Bishop, Prof David Cross
Wyndham City Council
- 2023: $26,660
Industry and Other Funding
Treatment: 6 Public Artworks at Western Treatment Plant
Prof David Cross, A/Prof Cameron Bishop
Wyndham Community Cultural Foundation Limited
- 2015: $6,000
On the Outer
A/Prof Cameron Bishop, Prof David Cross, Mr Shane Mcgrath
Pozible Pty Ltd
- 2016: $4,686
Supervisions
Lynda Roberts
Thesis entitled: On Going Public: A Field Guide for Making Art Public in Melbourne 2014 - 2019.
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts
Madeleine Louise Leach
Thesis entitled: Not fully present: Five artworks by Maddie Leach
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts
Sandra Gibbs
Thesis entitled: The paradox of failure: sport, competition and contemporary art
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts
Jeremy Howard Noble
Thesis entitled: Anthrotopology: Thirdness, Complexity, and the Poetics of Individualism
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts
Monique Redmond
Thesis entitled: The Event within Temporary Practices and the Public Social
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts
Jan Nelson
Thesis entitled: Lasagne Composting: Strategies for Painting in a Digital Age
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts
Dario Vacirca
Thesis entitled: The Capital: Transforming Systems of Power and Personal Horizons of Possibility through Radical Cultural Praxis
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts
Wendy Kelly
Thesis entitled: Performing transition: Socially engaged art and the immanent pedagogical encounter in the de/re/industrialising city
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts
Jason Christopher Maling
Thesis entitled: Hosting Play: Towards an Aesthetic Methodology for Generating Agency Within Participatory Art
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts
Shelley Jardine
Thesis entitled: Navigating the Gallery: Audience, data and re-abstraction
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts
Fiona Hillary
Thesis entitled: A creative cartography: what can public art practice do to intervene in our rehearsal of the future?
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts
Bindi Chocka
Thesis entitled: LAST YEAR¿S ARTIST: Contemporary Art, the Christian Conversion and Cancel Culture
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts
Kirsten Lyttle
Thesis entitled: Digital Mana: Transforming the Photograph into a Site for Making Maori Customary Art
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts
Simon Grennan
Thesis entitled: Landscape, Painting, and Consciousness
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts
Stephanie Elise Hutchison
Thesis entitled: META: Discourses from Dancers Inside Action Machines
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts