Walking: Documents of Contemporary Art

Walking surveys the proliferation of pedestrian practices across contemporary art, taking an avowedly political stance on where and how the three practices of art, walking and writing intersect.

Across the world, walking remains a vital way to assert one’s presence in public space and discourse. Foregrounding work by Black artists, Indigenous artists and artists of colour, working-class artists, LGBTQI+ artists, disabled artists and neurodiverse artists, as well as many others, Walking maps the terrain of contemporary walking practices while examining the diverse voices and bodies of those who incorporate walking into their art. This anthology contends that, as a relational practice, walking inevitably touches upon questions of access, public space, land ownership and use; it is therefore always a political act. Walking offers a vital opportunity to draw attention to the work of those who are frequently denied the right to take their places in public space, not only in the street or the countryside but also in art discourse.

Artists included: Stanley Brouwn, Annalee Davis, Laura Grace Ford, Regina Jose Galindo, Emily Hesse, Tehching Hsieh, Steffani Jemison, Kongo Astronauts, Myriam Lefkowitz, Sharon Kivland, Andre Komatsu, Steve McQueen, Jade Montserrat, Sara Morawetz, Bruce Nauman, Paulo Nazareth, Camilla Nelson, Ingo Niermann, Carmen Papalia, Ingrid Pollard, Issa Samb, Moneta Sleet Jr, Mikey Smith, Sop, Iman Tajik, Tentative Collective, Amanda Thomson, Robert Walser, Anna Zvyagintseva.

Writers included: Jason AllenPaisant, Katherine Bailey, Tanya Barson, Andre Brasil, Amanda Cachia, Sarah Jane Cervenak, Annie Dillard, Jacques Derrida, Dwayne Donald, Darby English, Kate Fletcher, Susan Gibb, Edouard Glissant, Steve Graby, Antje von Graevenitz, Stefano Harney & Fred Moten, Elise Misao Hunchuck, Kathleen Jamie, Carl Lavery, JeeYeun Lee, Michael Marder, Chus Martinez, Giordano Nanni, Gabriella Nugent, Sonia Overall, Roger Owen, Julie Pellegrin, Isobel Parker Philip, Caroline Filice Smith, Cherise Smith, Rebecca Solnit, Stephanie Springgay and Sarah E. Truman.

About the Author:

Tom Jeffreys is a writer and editor based in Edinburgh, Scotland. His work has been featured in a range of publications including Artforum, ArtReview, eflux Criticism, Frieze, Monocle, New Scientist and The World of Interiors. He is author of The White Birch: A Russian Reflection (2021) and Signal Failure: London to Birmingham, HS2 on Foot (2017).