(in)exact walk: Tour of GSA Learning Spaces is an audio-guided experience created for staff attending a SHED development workshop at the Glasgow School of Art. Guided by the artist-researcher’s voice and layered with student recordings, the work invites participants to explore the Reid Building through a shifting sonic landscape.

Participants were encouraged to walk alone, yet collectively, each listener experiencing a unique journey shaped by attention, movement, and the invitation to notice. The recording featured narration and student reflections from inaccessible spaces, responding to questions like “How would you describe this space?” and “What usually happens here?” These responses helped construct a sonic ecology of the building that is both real and imagined, immediate and archival.

Influenced by walking pedagogies (Springgay & Truman, 2018; Goertz, 2018) and sound-based art practices like those of Janet Cardiff and Max Neuhaus, the tour invited a slowed, attentive encounter with space. The ambiguity and disorientation were intentional, echoing ideas of detour and dérive, allowing each participant to navigate meaning in their own way.

Participants shared their experiences via Mentimeter, creating a collective echo of the (in)exact walk. Responses revealed a strong emotional and reflective impact, with many participants reporting that the experience helped them reconsider their relationship with institutional space. At the same time, the project surfaced important questions around access and invitation, particularly for those with mobility needs. The work remains as a portable artefact and an ongoing enquiry into how listening can support spatial literacy, learning cultures, and inclusive staff development.

Research Question
This work asked: Can a guided audio walk offer an effective and open-ended method for engaging staff in reflective exploration of institutional space and learning culture? The intention was to test how sonic practice might enable critical reflection, spatial awareness, and collective orientation through non-linear, participatory means.

Methods
(Digger Nutter developed (in)exact walk as part of a SHED staff development workshop at Glasgow School of Art. The piece invited participants to walk the Reid Building while listening to a layered sound recording via personal devices. The recording combined Digger’s narration with pre-recorded student voices from spaces that listeners might not access during the tour. These student contributions were gathered through two open prompts: “How would you describe this space?” and “What usually happens here?” Together, these layers constructed a sonic ecology that blurred the boundaries of real and imagined experience.

Participants undertook the walk alone but were connected through the shared act of guided listening. The invitation was deliberately open-ended, encouraging curiosity and attunement rather than precision or direction. Responses were gathered through a Mentimeter poll and closing conversation, revealing the emotional and conceptual reach of the work.

Context of Contribution
Presented on 11 March 2025 at a live SHED event, (in)exact walk served both as a welcome gesture and a critical prompt. Feedback included reports of delight, disorientation, and meaningful shifts in how participants viewed their learning environments. However, the work also surfaced challenges: one participant with mobility needs experienced the openness of the invitation as disorienting and exclusionary. This has prompted further reflection on how exploratory pedagogies can be made more accessible. The piece continues to contribute to broader conversations around spatial literacy, sonic practice, and inclusive staff development in creative education.