William Sharpe joined us as our Café guest. His book on The Art of Walking: a history in 100 images was published to wide acclaim. So how did he come to choose which images best represented the art of walking, and what did he choose to leave out, and why?
What does a walk look like?
From cave art to contemporary performance, William Sharpe reveals that a depicted walk is always more than a matter of simple steps. Whether sculpted in stone, painted on a wall, or captured on film, each detail of gait and dress, each stride and gesture has a story to tell, for every aspect of walking is shaped by social practices and environmental conditions.
And what do we read into what we see?
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The Art of Walking
We are delighted to have William Sharpe join us as our Café guest. This time last year, his book on The Art of Walking: a history in 100 images was published to wide acclaim. So how did he come to choose which images best represented the art of walking, and what did he choose to leave out, and why?
Radical Stroud
Radical Stroud is a community-led initiative based in Stroud, Gloucestershire, which serves as a hub for exploring and promoting radical political ideas, environmental activism, and social justice. The website documents a range of local and global issues, hostings talks, events, and workshops focused on themes such as anti-capitalism, climate change, decolonization, and alternative economic models. It also archives historical activism in the Stroud area, connecting past struggles with contemporary movements. The platform includes articles, event information, and resources that engage with grassroots organizing and participatory democracy. Radical Stroud emphasizes collective action and ecological sustainability within its efforts, fostering a space where activists, scholars, and community members can share knowledge and coordinate efforts. The content reflects an intersectional approach to social change, addressing interconnected issues in a regional context.
Marcher, créer – Déplacements, flâneries, dérives dans l’art de la fin du XXe siècle
Thierry Davila examines movement and mobility in contemporary art as tools for making art, focusing on the figure of the walker or surveyor. The book starts from the idea that part of contemporary art gives movement a central role in the creation of artworks. While this continues a long art-historical tradition in which the walking
V Press
The website "Vpress Poetry" hosted on Blogspot serves as an online platform dedicated to the publication and promotion of contemporary poetry. It features a variety of poems from multiple poets, offering readers access to diverse poetic voices and styles. The blog format allows for chronological updates, where new poetry is regularly posted alongside occasional essays or reflections related to poetic practice and theory. Additionally, the site includes information about Vpress, an independent publisher specializing in poetry, providing context about their editorial focus and submission guidelines. Functionally, the blog is organized to facilitate easy navigation through its posts, which are often tagged or categorized by themes or poets’ names. The visual design is minimal, prioritizing textual content to highlight the poems themselves without distractions. Readers can engage with the material through comments, fostering a small community of poetry enthusiasts. Overall, the site operates as both an archive and a showcase for contemporary poetry, supporting the dissemination and discussion of poetic works beyond traditional print media.

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