Open to both those in Prespa and online, Walking a Line: Encounters Through Drawing, an activity created by Ruth Broadbent, can be carried out whilst walking to Prespa or at any time during the week, individually or as a simultaneous group action. It involves walking a line (of any length) and making three pencil rubbings of the ground onto small squares of paper 7 x 7 cm, adding a brief description of the place, surface, and any other observations on the back of each square.
Instructions and further info are on my website https://ruthbroadbent.com/walking-a-line-prespa-2021/ Password: Prespa21 Please send photographs of the front and back of your ground rubbings to [email protected] (or via social media), I will collate them and share the results. Comments will be open on my Prespa website page if anyone would like to add anything, and as I am unable to attend in person, I will be available online for any discussions.
Combining walking and drawing, taking pencil rubbings of the path, this activity encourages a sensory engagement with the ground and an opportunity to consider walking as a question. Pausing to connect with the ground, engaging with it and with what lies beneath, allows time to consider the function of the path, its (im)permanence, as it is now and how it might have been shaped over time, from elemental influences to the movement of animals, vehicles and people. The very act itself of walking and stopping along the way may also bring up challenges, whether through restrictions on movement or mobility. All of these factors contribute to the process, outcomes and impact.
Collectively mapping the ground through drawings made during the 2021 Walking Encounters/Conference creates a visual language and system of communication that crosses borders and boundaries, opening up a space for reflecting on walking as a question.
These drawings continue a larger project, Walking a Line, launched in 2017 at Made of Walking, La Romieu, France and connect to Groundlines, drawings from journeys on foot or by bicycle.
