Invisible Walking

As part of the Power and Architecture season, you’re invited to join this “walkshop” – a workshop conducted on the streets – hosted by The Demolition Project, who will encourage visitors to think about how to be invisible in a city where somebody is always watching. 

No experience necessary: All are welcome. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes and bring along a camera or notebook if you’d like to record any sights or tips along the way.

Can we be aware of all the eyes on us without letting on that we’re looking at them? In Russia, the FindFace app lets anyone photograph you in the street and find your identity on social media; in Britain, where there are already up to 6 million fixed CCTV cameras, even security staff in universities and supermarkets have started wearing surveillance devices.

We will explore tactics and strategies for avoiding attention or hiding in plain sight, and we’ll look at the opposite – how to be suspicious – using the Metropolitan Police guidelines as a starting point.

Along the way we’ll consider artists, activists and urbanists who have been interested in urban in/visibility, from Broomberg+Chanarin to Hito Steyerl, Bradley Garrett to Walter Benjamin. There will be ample time for conversation and debate about any issues raised by the question of what it means to be in/visible in the city.

Location

Participants will meet at Calvert 22, 22 Calvert Avenue, London E2 7JP. The workshop will explore the surrounding Shoreditch neighbourhood, after which participants will return to the gallery for a discussion.

The Demolition Project is a collaboration between Russian artist Alisa Oleva and English writer Debbie Kent, inspired by a shared fascination with the demolitions and construction sites that make the city a place of constant transformation, and by the changes taking place in their respective home cities of Moscow and London, the power relationships they mirror and the traces they leave.

Booking terms & conditions

The workshop is free to attend, but a deposit of £5 will be taken in lieu of a ticket, which will be fully refunded when you attend the event or send someone else in your place. Not attending the event and not sending anyone else in your place will mean you lose your deposit.

Please allow up to 7 business days for your refund to be processed and show up on your account. If it’s past that time, do get in touch with us so we can look into it.

We have a 12-hour cancellation policy, meaning you can cancel your ticket up to 12 hours before the event start time by emailing [email protected] and the deposit will be refunded to your account. For any cancellations made outside this time frame the deposit becomes non-refundable.