Dynamic Knowledge: moving together in practice. How to learn without teaching
9–13 May 2026 · Salt → Albanyà → Muga River (Girona, Catalonia, Spain)
The Walking Assembly 2026 is a nomadic, field-based gathering for artists, researchers, educators, and collectives interested in walking as a form of knowledge-making, relational practice, and ecological inquiry. Building on the Walking Arts and Relational Geographies encounters held in Catalonia in 2022 and 2024, the 2026 edition marks a decisive shift: from conference to assembly, from encounter to movement.
Rather than relying on conventional academic formats, The Walking Assembly proposes an experimental model in which knowledge emerges through shared walking, presence, and collective experience. Learning is understood not as something transmitted or taught, but as something that arises through movement, attention, and being together in place.
Organised by Nau Côclea with an international curatorial team, The Walking Assembly 2026 takes place within the framework of the HO1 POCTEFA cross-border project (Spain–France).
Concept & Theme
Dynamic Knowledge: moving together in practice. How to learn without teaching
The Assembly starts from the recognition that certain forms of knowledge are embodied, relational, ecological, and situated—and cannot be fully grasped through disciplinary research or formal instruction alone. Walking is proposed as:
- a mode of knowing grounded in movement, care, and attention
- a commons based on hospitality, reciprocity, and co-creation
- a way to explore relationships between human and more-than-human worlds
Water, and specifically the Muga River, serves as both guiding metaphor and material presence throughout the Assembly, foregrounding flow, transformation, accumulation, erosion, and return as pedagogical forces.
Structure
Part 1 – Confluence in Salt (Saturday, 9 May 2026)
A one-day open Confluence hosted in Salt (near Girona), bringing together up to 120 participants. Moving beyond traditional conference formats, participants share materials in advance and engage on site through conversations, walks, workshops, and collective sessions. Highlights include a public conversation with Tim Ingold, and an introduction to the walking expedition and thematic walkshops. As part of the parallel programme, expedition participants will take part in an experiential walk in the Urban Gardens of Salt with the Milfulles Association, while non-expedition participants are invited to a counter-mapping workshop led by Luce Choules.
Part 2 – Walking Expedition along the Muga River (10–13 May 2026)
A four-day, three-night nomadic walking expedition based in Albanyà, limited to 30 selected participants. Working in small groups, participants engage in sustained dialogue with the river and its landscapes through themed walkshops, including:
- The river that sees us – Clara Garí and Marc Caellas
- Walking, Writing, and the Commons of Attention – Geert Vermeire
- Personal and Other Pilgrimages – Claudia Zeiske
- Walking on Water – Pau Cata
Evenings are dedicated to collective reflection and sharing. A live photographic fieldwork process, coordinated by Luce Choules, will form an evolving expedition archive.
Participation & Application
Participants may apply for:
- Confluence only (€75, all day, included welcome coffee and catering / lunch), (€35, morning talk Tim Ingold only, included welcome coffee), by simple registration by e-mail
- Confluence + Walking Expedition (€380, included full day program in Girona with lunch and one night (shared) accomodation in hotel, transport from/to Girona-Albanya (Muga), 3 nights accommodation in Albanya (shared bungalows), and food in Albanya (collective cooking))
Applications for Walking Expedition must include:
- A 500-word statement of interest
- A 250-word biography and three links to relevant work
- Indication of participation preference
Deadline: 28 February 2026
Walking Assembly: 9–13 May 2026
Send to artdelcaminar@gmail.com
Curatorial Committee:
Clara Garí, Geert Vermeire, Claudia Zeiske, Pau Cata, Luce Choules
Organiser:
Centre de Creació Contemporània Nau Côclea
Partners:
Department of Geography at the University of Girona, Associació Milfulles (Salt), Ateneu Popular de Salt, Centre d’Art et Photographie Lumière d’Encre (Céret, France), Made of Walking (Belgium), walk · listen · create, Locative Media Supercluster, Temporal School of Experimental Geography
Related
Grand Tour Slow Train soundwalk
Grand Tour is a 250 km, three-week walk by multidisciplinary artists from the Ebro River Delta to Lleida, taking place from August 14 to September 1, 2019. The project concludes with participants boarding Catalonia's slowest train from Lleida to Barcelona, where they will create a moving sound map through recordings, walking choreography, and collaborative activities.
Libraries as Gardens – sound walk in Athens
The National Garden of Athens hosts an interactive audio project featuring global participants sharing stories and readings about their favorite public gardens during the pandemic, accessible via a mobile webapp or desktop map. This evolving sound walk includes lockdown silence recordings and aims to create a geolocated audio archive of personal and public garden experiences before, during, and after COVID-19.
WALC Café El Grand Tour Slowness, Encounter and Transformation
Video Hosted by Clara Gari of Nau Côclea. Join us for the online presentation of the upcoming Grand Tour 2025! This year’s route will take us from the Maresme to the Pyrenees, through the Montseny, Les Guilleries, and Osona, weaving a collective journey of artistic creation and shared walking, with more artists than ever. As
Beach of Dreams
How can artistic interventions that engage communities through walking create and foster an emotional connection to coastal landscapes? Join Ali Pretty , Walking Artist and the Director of Beach of Dreams, for an insightful session exploring the role walking artists can play in advancing the conversation on climate change and mobilising communities to celebrate and protect their coastlines.

You must be logged in to post a comment.