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First foot

1 Jan, 2024

The first person entering a household on New Year's Day setting the tone for the year is a tradition celebrated by the Scottish and Northern English people. National First Foot Day, often associated with "Hogmanay" in Scotland, dates back over 1000 years, possibly introduced by invading Vikings. The custom involves the belief that the first person stepping into a house on New Year's Day brings good luck for the entire year.

It was exactly 100 years ago, in 1924, that walking arts became what it is today, with surrealists walking about chance encounters and meetings, meeting with strangers at the core of their artistic walking actions.

Our century is and will be defined by forced migration, together with the problems emerging from climate change. The archetype of the migrant in our time of global crises is a walker. Climate change and global conflicts displace people and communities, causing mass migrations in search of safety, food, and shelter, many of these displacements happen by foot between continents.

Walking arts in the 21st century can help to mitigate the impacts on displaced people and communities, with great importance given to local hospitality towards walkers of all origins. Walking arts is a universal practice and places the refugee/migrant and the local citizen in a shared space of hosting and being welcomed. It creates an inviting environment for reciprocity and cooperation between the ones who are hosted and the ones who host.

And that may well be the legacy of walking arts, when looked back upon in 2124.

Happy New Year!

co-founder of walk · listen · create

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"SCHRITTWEISE" by Katja Münker is a performance-intervention, using choreography and walking to engage with city environments and create performative walks. It combines physical performances with an audio-guide and a research toolkit available online. The project aims to establish a collective aesthetic space and invites individuals to interpret and co-create within the provided framework, reaching beyond social and physical boundaries imposed by COVID-19.
With The (Future) Wales Coast Path, Alison Neighbour, through a cooperation between Wales and India, seeks to raise awareness of the impermanence of the land many of us take for granted, and to open up a local and global conversation about flooding, sea level rise, and adaptation. This walking piece is one of the shortlisted pieces in
Audio Artist Dawn Matheson, in collaboration with Abhiraj Dadiyan, has produced a participatory work "Semi-Colon". Part of the larger "How To Draw A Tree" project, Semi-Colon invites listeners to engage with nature in original ways. The multimedia endeavor focuses on fostering connections between individuals with mental health challenges, creativity, and trees, seeking to foster social change and combat isolation.
"Stopping To Notice" is a podcast created by Miranda Keeling, Oli Seymour, and Fresh Air Production, focusing on everyday life's joys. The show lasts only 5 minutes per episode and aims to celebrate ordinary moments via sound.

Upcoming events

2024-01-05 10:00 · Online
Walk the new year in with a difference! Does January feel endless and stodgy?  Want to kickstart fun into January? Walk this way! Step into fresh thinking this J... Keep reading
2024-01-06 16:00 · Héroes Park, Jirón Las Mimosas 231, Lima 15063, Peru
Join Ursula Franco Block for a 2 hour in-person Street Wisdom Walkshop, meeting at Parque de los Heroes, Jiron las Mimosas 231, Lima 15063 (Google map here) on Satu... Keep reading

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Poet-in-residence Shani Cadwallender provides an introductory text to the new year. Keep reading
 Day 180 - Production and 2.6 km drawing. Keep reading
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Mais que fait donc l’oreille, si ce n’est trainer les rues et errer le long des berges.Elle s’encanaille et se saoule de sons, parfois jusqu’à plus soif.Elle s’eniv... Keep reading
I didn’t plan to go home. But my father died and my mother made me feel guilty. Read my 75-word Paragraph Planet story here Keep reading

Stuff we found

Hear what musings coming alive in the dark. Source: Podcast: Nightwalking with Bianca Giaever – Atlas Obscura Keep reading

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skirr

To hurry about in search of something, to take a short walk, to hike. “Send out horses, skir the country round.” (Shakespeare, Macbeth.)from the Dictionary of Newfoundland English (University of Toronto Press, 1982).

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