Urban Hitchhiking
Urban Hitchhiking is an artistic practice and a way to engage serendipitously with random people (pedestrians) in the urban environment by sharing a walk and a moment with them. It is a project that reimagines the traditional concept of hitchhiking: instead of hitching a ride in a vehicle, the hiker hitches a walk in the company of a pedestrian.
The idea of Urban Hitchhiking was initiated by finnish anthropologist and urban artist / activist Lauri Jäntti (one of the team members in this project) in 2016. The concept and the practice has been co-developed into various directions in collaboration particularly with performance artist Tuuli Malla and also with numerous scholars from different academic fields during a number of artistic and academic experiments and iterations.
Go for a Hike
Do you also want to hike for stories?
You can =) But we recommend you not to do this alone, both for safety reasons but also to
be able to share your experience and your stories with someone else and reflect upon it!
1. Print one of our pre-printed signs or make your own.
2. Place yourself in the midst of pedestrian traffic and raise your thumb.
3. Try to make eye contact with passing people
4. Wait for someone to stop or address you. The hike must be done of one`s own free will!
5. Start hiking with someone and listen to what they have to say.
6. Make use of open-ended questions!
7. Reflect/ share with your hiking crew!
8. Share the stories on Hiking for stories website!
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