betweenworks

Betweenworks is a flexible, descriptive term used in various fields to refer to works that inhabit the space between established pieces, genres, or systems. It is not a fixed concept with a single definition, but rather a cross-disciplinary idea that highlights continuity, transition, and interconnection.

In art and curatorial practice, betweenworks describe pieces that function as bridges between exhibitions, installations, or bodies of work. They may foreground process, site specificity, and audience interpretation, and often challenge traditional boundaries of a project.

In literature and publishing, the term can designate experimental forms that lie between genres or between published volumes, including short sequences, chapbooks, or companion texts that illuminate a larger work without being its main narrative.

In software and information design, betweenworks can refer to middleware, adapters, or integration layers that connect otherwise incompatible systems or data models, enabling new workflows without altering core components.

In music and performance, interstitial or betweenworks pieces are works that occur between the main acts, or works created to link albums, tours, or multimedia projects.

Because usage is diverse, some writers avoid over-definition and use betweenworks as a conceptual label to draw attention to in-between states in creative practice. See also interstitial art, bridging works, transitional pieces.