Walk Together
Already before recent events like the Covid pandemic, “uncertainty” has been one of the core experiences of artists and designers, in terms of the inherent uncertainty of the creative process as such, but also in consideration of external circumstances, possible career trajectories. According e.g. to French sociologist Pierre-Michel Menger, dealing with and even excelling in uncertainty may even be considered the key capacity of creative practitioners.
A significant contributing factor in successfully facing uncertainty is the sense of not being alone with the task. In art schools it is one of the particular purposes of the “studio” to instil a feeling of community, of shared experience and purpose, and thus to bolster the individual’s sense of uncertainty by means of an actual support network, and ‐ possibly more importantly ‐ a feeling of togetherness, of “weight distribution”.
The paper “Walk Together” will introduce a case study conducted with students from two art schools in Europe and Asia already before the current pandemic developed that aimed at creating experiences of connectedness and togetherness through casual encounters in remote walks.
A significant contributing factor in successfully facing uncertainty is the sense of not being alone with the task. In art schools it is one of the particular purposes of the “studio” to instil a feeling of community, of shared experience and purpose, and thus to bolster the individual’s sense of uncertainty by means of an actual support network, and ‐ possibly more importantly ‐ a feeling of togetherness, of “weight distribution”.
The paper “Walk Together” will introduce a case study conducted with students from two art schools in Europe and Asia already before the current pandemic developed that aimed at creating experiences of connectedness and togetherness through casual encounters in remote walks.
Already in the 1980s, the Swiss design theorist Lucius Burckhardt developed his concept of “strollology” or the “science of strolling” as an experimental and experiential methodology for cultural studies. Others, like anthropologist Tim Ingold, picked up on this notion and further established walking as an alternative academic and creative practice.
In an attempt to integrate these observations into art & design teaching, I decided to experiment with a series of digitally connected walks with students from two sister art schools in Europe and Asia in the context of a distant learning collaboration in autumn of 2018 that aimed at exploring novel formats for sustainable and accessible international exposure by means of digital engagement.
For the first experiment, students were requested to meet online with another student from abroad on a specific day and time (using Whatsapp as the agreed tool of choice), and then “to walk home together”. Other than this general instruction, students were to act/behave as they would “normally” do when going home with a friend.
In subsequent weeks, we repeated these walks with slightly varying assignments. E.g., students were asked to complete small (creative) assignments during their walks together, to behave in particular ways, or to engage in particular activities.
Unanimously, the experiments were regarded a success: in particular students very much appreciated the engagements with their counterparts, the opportunity for casual togetherness the walks created. Interestingly though, amongst all the different exercises, the first ‐ the one purely about walking together ‐ was perceived as the most meaningful, substantial and sustainable.
In continuation of the experiences from the walks in 2018, I begun the development of an app for mobile devices to facilitate (social) student activities beyond the context of specific courses in a safe, structured educational environment based on small everyday activities. By the time this paper may be presented, the app will hopefully be launched, and I may share early experiences from further experiments, in addition to a fuller, more detailed account of the original case study and its outcomes.
In an attempt to integrate these observations into art & design teaching, I decided to experiment with a series of digitally connected walks with students from two sister art schools in Europe and Asia in the context of a distant learning collaboration in autumn of 2018 that aimed at exploring novel formats for sustainable and accessible international exposure by means of digital engagement.
For the first experiment, students were requested to meet online with another student from abroad on a specific day and time (using Whatsapp as the agreed tool of choice), and then “to walk home together”. Other than this general instruction, students were to act/behave as they would “normally” do when going home with a friend.
In subsequent weeks, we repeated these walks with slightly varying assignments. E.g., students were asked to complete small (creative) assignments during their walks together, to behave in particular ways, or to engage in particular activities.
Unanimously, the experiments were regarded a success: in particular students very much appreciated the engagements with their counterparts, the opportunity for casual togetherness the walks created. Interestingly though, amongst all the different exercises, the first ‐ the one purely about walking together ‐ was perceived as the most meaningful, substantial and sustainable.
In continuation of the experiences from the walks in 2018, I begun the development of an app for mobile devices to facilitate (social) student activities beyond the context of specific courses in a safe, structured educational environment based on small everyday activities. By the time this paper may be presented, the app will hopefully be launched, and I may share early experiences from further experiments, in addition to a fuller, more detailed account of the original case study and its outcomes.