(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.
