Get to know yourself and your neighborhood better by gathering artifacts from walks taken alone and in groups. Learn methods in cataloging, worldbuilding, and writing as an art practice. Develop skills in 3D photogrammetry and web-development as means for documentation.

Dérive is a situationist practice described by Guy-Ernest Debord as a “technique of rapid passage through varied ambiances.” In this course, we will incorporate walks around our collective neighborhoods into our daily routine and collect found objects that represent the percolating ideas that are floating around in our minds. We will use this information as a springboard to create individual archives that inform our own creative practices.

We will use our mobile devices to 3D scan pertinent objects from daily walks and learn various methods of digital archiving from cataloging, crafting lore, and importing them to a digital world.

You will be expected to take walks around your neighborhood during the week and share your journey during class. Each session will be split into 3 parts: a theory and skill demo, time to practice with tools, and an optional show and tell.

• Feel the endorphins from walking!
• Read, watch and discuss perspectives on walking-based projects.
• Develop soft and technical skills in worldbuilding to inform your personal creative practice.
• Learn methods of cataloging and archiving digital media.

Week 1 — Deconstructed Walks

Release the ordinary paths you take in the world and let chance guide you by taking a dérive instead. Reconstruct a method of collecting items along your way.

Week 2 — Imaginary Walks

Take your items and craft lore behind your objects. Whether it be fictional or autobiographical, a rich narrative will help develop your digital 3D world turned archive.

Week 3 — Archival Walks

Finalize your method of cataloging your objects and polish your archival worlds. Share your personal journey with the group.

Theory of Dérive by Guy Earnest Debord

You will need a phone and a computer with a browser.

Alexa Ann Bonomo is a tech artist and scholar with a deep interest in methods in preservation and archiving with an extensive skillset in creative technology. Her creative work primarily lives on the internet and other ephemeral settings in the form of net art, creative writing and other community driven projects. She is currently crafting lore and researching motion capture for performance based art in the World Engines Lab. Alexa curates programming and teaches with Index, works on archiving and conserving new media works with Leonardo, and is an adjunct professor at University of San Francisco.

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Index scholarships are designed to benefit underrepresented groups, BIPOC members of our community, and those for whom the class price is not accessible. These need-based scholarships will go to the candidates who best demonstrate why they should be chosen for the free spot to our class based on the following criteria:

• Belong to groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the graphic design and creative industries
• Do not have jobs that would pay for these courses as professional development
• Cannot independently afford the class at list price
• Share our value of intentional community

The number of selected applicants chosen is subject to the discretion of Index and the instructor, but every course will select at least one. Apply for a scholarship here. Applications close June 30th.