Walkspace

News release: 1 February 2022

Two walk-based art collectives over 7,500 miles apart have been walking in parallel to see what pedestrian life is like in each other’s motor cities. Now they are sharing their stories in a new exhibition and zine, launching in both countries in February 2022. 

The British Council-supported project brought Walkspace in Birmingham, UK, together with Jalan Gembira in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for a cultural creative exchange through the act of walking. Artists in both cities explored themes such as pedestrian safety, public versus private space, gentrification/redevelopment, and the nature of walking.

What is it like to walk in a city dominated by cars and mopeds? What pedestrian portals lie off-road where drivers can’t go? Is it safe to walk alone? What lies behind the scenes? 

The result is ‘Parallel Walking: Between Here and There, Between the Seen and the Unseen’ – an exhibition and zine comparing Birmingham and Yogya’s perspectives on the urban walking experience. The show runs for two weeks at Artefact Gallery in Stirchley (5-19th Feb); a mirror exhibition will appear on noticeboards at a community watch post called ‘pos kamling’ in Yogyakarta (10-15th Feb). 

A schedule of public walks, walk-based film night, zine launch (12th Feb) and online discussion will accompany the show.

Walkspace is a 36-member collective in the West Midlands for artists and writers who use walking in their creative practice. It was approached in August 2021 by Jalan Gembira, a female-led walking practitioners group in Yogyakarta, Java, which translates as ‘happy road’. 

Three Birmingham-based walking artists were commissioned for the project. 

• Andy Howlett started mapping the city’s ‘pedestrian portals’ through experimental group drifts starting underneath the Aston Expressway at Lancaster Circus
• Beth Hopkins aka Bethany Kay used field recordings and composition to create ‘Ode to Chad’ – a song to Birmingham’s Chad Brook river which flows through public and private space 
• Fiona Cullinan – walked a series of alley, walkways and footpaths alone to create ‘Female Calculations’, a photo collage and film exploring subjective female safety algorithms.

In Yogyakarta, Jalan Gembira also invited three artists to explore Ratmakan, a riverside village that is being redeveloped and styled as a tourist area – something which feels at odds with the reality of life for those living there, and echoing gentrification impacts in the UK. 

As part of the cultural exchange, Walkspace is recreating a ‘pos kamling’ watchpost and noticeboard inside Artefact Gallery. It will also encourage visitors to indulge in the Indonesian hangout culture of ‘nongkrong’ – chilling out with friends in the space – as part of the exhibition.

Lead artist for the UK project, Fiona Cullinan, said:

“Getting the chance to work with Indonesian artists was a fantastic opportunity. I’ve visited Indonesia a few times so it was interesting to go deeper and learn about the arts collective scene while working on the project. We couldn’t meet in person so we had to find new ways to show each other our streets and share our experiences of urban walking. 

“Whatever challenges our cities throw at us, a lot of people have rediscovered the joy of walking in the last two years. For Walkspace, the act of creative walking goes beyond basic A to B pedestrianism. It’s like ‘walking-plus’ whether that plus is art or photography or songwriting or zine-making or meditation or something else that opens up a place in new ways.”

Jalan Gembira said:

“In reality, walking can be a way to understand the city we live in. For instance, we would not notice the changes that occurred in the city had we not directly experience it with our senses. We only see things through motor vehicles when we pass through and only get quick glimpses of the city.”

Beth Hopkins, who performs with Birmingham avant-pop band The Nature Centre and solo as Bethany Kay, said:

“Having the chance to explore a hidden corner of my city and respond to the sounds and places that the Chad Brook carves its way through was a real treat. By wading through private access areas and seeking out the brook, I felt like I was in some small way illuminating a piece of Brum that would otherwise have been hidden to public eyes and of course sharing the secret with our Indonesian colleagues.”

Further information

• Further information: Parallel Walking.
• Enquiries: walkspace.uk@gmail.com
• Media photos are available – download media pack here.
• Walkspace is a growing collective of emerging and established writers and artists in the West Midlands who are intrigued by walking in all its forms. It launched in February 2020 and this is its first funded project.
• Jalan Gembira is a walking practitioners collective based in Yogyakarta, Java, that has been walking together since 2016. They post their walks to @jalan.gembira.
• The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We build connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language. Last year we reached over 80 million people directly and 791 million people overall including online, and through broadcasts and publications. Founded in 1934 we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body. We receive a 15 per cent core funding grant from the UK government.
• The British Council’s Connections Through Culture programme has been running in the UK and East Asia for the past 16 years to foster international collaborations through arts and culture.
• Artefact is an artist-led gallery, workspace and and bar in the heart of Stirchley, South Birmingham.

#BritishCouncilCTC #CultureConnectsUs