Walking Through Times of Transition: Re/construction of Identity Through A/r/tography

In this article, we describe a storyStories of self-discovery and identityIdentity reconstruction through an a/r/tographic inquiryA/r/tographya/r/tographic inquiry with a professor walking with his eight studentsStudents in Tokyo. They ask: How do we live in an unfamiliar city? In a complex era of rapid change, how can we sustain or remake our identitiesIdentity, while adapting to new environments and circumstances in an effort to create a new vitality of life? ArtArt educationEducation practices that support our contemporary identitiesIdentity, which are constantly in fluxFlux, multiple, and ambiguousAmbiguityambiguous in a changing environment, will be raised through an exploration of a/r/tography and walking. The group walked together, sharing their experiencesExperience, sensations, memoriesMemorymemories and thinking, as they wrote texts, made artworks, shared discussions, and held an exhibition. They engaged in often unforeseenUnforeseen, complex, and ambiguousAmbiguityambiguous transactions as they pursued their a/r/tographic walkingA/r/tographya/r/tographic walking inquiryInquiry in Tokyo. They learned that being presentPresent consists of a multiplicity of ‘views’ toward livedLivinglived and living memoriesMemorymemories. Encountering the world through an a/r/tographic walkingA/r/tographya/r/tographic walking inquiryInquiry during a time of environmentalEnvironmental transitionTransition and subsequent life changes became an act of generativeGenerative engagementEngageengagement as individuals pursued opportunities to reconstruct their identitiesIdentity.