Detour from the Studio:

Shared routes, shared authorship.

The studio holds our process, our habits, our voices.
But it also frames and contains how we learn, work, make, and talk.

Make a detour.
It moves us from the fixed, the centre, the expected, to the unexpected, the familiar, unforeseen, and back again.

Here I share a project, a paper, a dialogue, and an invitation to walk in pairs, guided only by prompts and place.
Every route creates a gap, between the studio’s habits and the interruptions of the outside, to see what kinds of learning emerge when detour becomes part of pedagogy

In an art school, the studio is more than a room.

It is a shared working space where projects are made, ideas are tested, and conversations shape the work as it develops.

It holds our processes, habits, and voices and frames how we learn, work, make, and talk. That framing can be robust, but it can also be limiting. When the setting and rhythms remain constant, so can the kinds of exchanges that take place.

A detour changes that. It shifts the conversation from its usual position, moving it away from fixed routines and known patterns into a setting shaped by movement, prompts, and shared attention. The “studio” becomes wherever the dialogue happens.

This project began as a small-scale experiment with art and design students, but its premise is broader: what happens when we intentionally relocate our discussions, whether in education, professional development, or research, into a different frame, one that invites contrast and co-authorship?

The Project

This detour took place within a group of third-year art and design students.
The premise was simple: walk in pairs, guided only by prompts and a chosen destination. Each walk began and ended in the studio, but what happened in between was theirs to make.

Each pair receives a small printed zine containing:

A destination marker
Open-ended questions to prompt discussion
Invitations to pause, notice, and reflect along the way

There was no requirement to follow a set route, to record answers, or to “report back” in a fixed format. The zine was there as a scaffold, not a script, a companion that could be picked up or ignored as the walk unfolded.

Some pairs used the prompts to stay on task; others let the conversation drift, circling back when something around them prompted a connection. Some reached their destination quickly; others meandered or got deliberately lost. Each return to the studio brought a different trace of the journey, a sketch, a photo, a story, or simply a new perspective.

The routes themselves were a study in contrast: familiar and unfamiliar, planned and improvised, leading and following, speaking and listening. Every walk was co-signed by its participants, the prompts they chose, and the place they found themselves in at that moment.

What was found?

Multiple Modes of Engagement

No two pairs walked the same way. Some followed the prompts closely; others let the conversation drift. The zine was used as a guide, a distraction, or sometimes ignored.

“It felt like you opened a door, you can go there if you want to.”

Detour from the Expected

Students arrived with assumptions about what a “walk” would be, measuring buildings, surveying sites. What they found was different: novelty, meandering, even getting lost.

“You don’t know the main idea unless you do it. Afterwards, it was mind-blowing to see different perspectives.”

Navigating Relevance

Conversations shifted between project-focused discussion and “off-task” chat, but both proved valuable. Informal talk created a connection and made space for later insights.

“We were chatting about everything, then used the questions to bring it back.”

Together, these themes show how a detour creates gaps between expectation and reality, between focus and drift, where new meaning can emerge.

Want to go deeper?

Read the published paper - Detour from the studio: Novelty and walking as an approach to decentre studio learning, JPAAP, 2025

Invitation to Walk and Talk

Try it yourself
This isn’t just a project to read about, it’s something you can do.

How to start:

Pick a place to begin.
Invite someone to walk with you.
Carry a prompt (to follow - download the zine).
Walk, talk, notice, pause.
Reflect afterwards, alone or together.

Prompts might ask you to:

Notice what has changed since you were last here.
Name something familiar and something strange.
Follow a route without knowing where it leads.

Beyond the Studio

While this project began in an art school, its premise travels.
A paired walk could frame:

a peer-learning session
a staff development workshop
a curriculum review
a research interview

It’s not really about walking; it’s about displacement, contrast, and shared authorship.

So I leave you with a question:

To what extent can structured movement, of bodies, roles, and voices, prompt new ways of knowing in your own practice?

References & Further Reading

Gros, F. (2015). A Philosophy of Walking. Verso
Nutter, D. (2025). Detour from the studio: Novelty and walking as an approach to decentre studio learning. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 13(1).
Orr, S. & Shreeve, A. (2018). Art and Design Pedagogy in Higher Education: Knowledge, Values and Ambiguity in the Creative Curriculum. Routledge.
Springgay, S. & Truman, S. (2018). Walking Methodologies in a More-than-Human World. Routledge.