Your January Walkspace Newsletter
Hello walking artists and creative walkers!
We realised we hadn’t sent one of these out for a while and plenty of nice things have appeared on the Walkspace blog which you might have missed.
Megan Henebury’s figure walks
In the Autumn, between lockdowns, we assisted Megan Henebury with the first stages of her walk through the middle of the River Rea in waders, recording it with video and photos which are archived here. In November she wrote The grand old face of the plateau, reflecting on a project which, like all interesting projects, didn’t start quite as planned.
Nyla Naseer’s walking pace
Kings Heath-based author Nyla got in touch about her new book, At Walking Pace, and we offered to run an extract, on the history of art and walking. Andy then joined her for one of her walks where she recorded the conversation as they explored Highbury Park.
Paul Taylor’s durational walks
A few years ago Paul started walking for health… and didn’t stop, completing a million steps last February. Fiona sent him a load of questions about the how and why and he provides some useful tips, such as gaffer-taping your feet.
Kruse is wild
We were delighted to see Kruse writing about walking again after a pandemic-enforced break. Here she encourages walkers to see themselves as part of nature, not just passing through it. “You are not separate from the wild things.“
Andy Howlett’s suburban lockdown
As we enter another lockdown you may find inspiration from Andy’s documentation of his experiences exploring the city last summer. From solo walking the empty streets to group walks along the river when restrictions lessened, it’s all in this lovely 17-minute short film.
Laura Babb’s mindful walks
Laura wrote a guest post about mindful walking with instructions for a more meditative and therapeutic walk.
Fiona Cullinan on night walking
Walking under a full moon has become a Walkspace tradition. Over the Xmas break Fiona collaborated with the aforementioned Laura on a women’s night walk in the Waseley Hills. The experience prompted some thoughts.
The ability to blend in with the night is a lure: to become enveloped by the darkness and the security of not being seen. To become the people who lurk in the shadows. There is empowerment in being a woman who walks at night, in rewriting the script of fear that runs alongside the female experience of the city. There is a reclaiming of the night and a mating of two strange bedfellows: exhilaration and peacefulness.
Andy goes trespassing
Finally, Andy saw a lake he didn’t recognise on the map and was determined to find it, and has rather rashly posted evidence of his transgression on the Walkspace blog. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
If you would like to contribute something to the website, please get in touch. And watch out soon for information on Walkspace’s plans for the next year and how you can get involved.
Stay safe, and make the most of your daily government mandated outside activity!
Walkspace
http://walkspace.uk/