Our first group show as a walking arts collective launches on Saturday 3 June!
Walkspace is three years old – still a toddler but now fed, supported and nurtured by its 48-strong membership. We are a growing collective of artists, writers, psychogeographers, photographers, creative practitioners and walkers. We come from across the West Midlands region: Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. We hail from all kinds of backgrounds – from academics and artists to bookkeepers and bartenders, from ex-junior doctors and ex-paramedics, to an expanse of *ists (conservationists, ecologists, musicologists, sociologists, journalists and horticulturalists).
Most importantly, we all use walking in our creative practices in a multitude of ways.
We have decided to celebrate that variety with our first-ever group show: Walkspace 23: Contours and crossings in creative walking.
You’re all invited to the official launch – the Opening Night Party on Saturday 3 June from 7pm – which will feature art, music, poetry, performances, and a tailored Walkspace walk-related cocktail made specially for the event.
Schedule of events
There’s more to be announced in the run-up to the gallery opening. Check back here or follow our socials.
Where: The group exhibition will be hosted at Artefact Gallery in Stirchley, south Birmingham.
When: Saturday 3 June to Saturday 1 July 2023. The Opening Night Party is from 7pm on Saturday 3 June.
Who: Around 20 members‘ artworks will feature in the exhibition. A full list will be available in the Walkspace 2023 exhibition guide and pamphlet.
Walks: There will be two public walks alongside the exhibition:
- Saturday 10th June: A tour of Selly Oak’s radical history with Josh Allen
- Saturday 24th June: Metaphysical Treasure Hunt – an experimental drift based on a format devised by Morag Rose and The Loiterers Resistance Movement. Meet 11am, Stirchley Park
Film night: An evening of walk-related film shorts will be held at Artefact on Friday 16 June, 7pm, hosted by Andy Howlett.
An invitation to walk
The Walkspace 23 exhibition aims to open up new ways for people to experience and interact with both urban areas and rural landscapes, and to provide ideas and inspiration around the very basic act of moving from one place to another.
To join our regular walks or see our archive of past events, visit the Erratics page.
Walkspace 