How do different places make us feel and behave; What do the places and spaces that surround us mean? How do we uncover the history, geography and politics under our feet; What creative approaches can be used, in response to sites, their edgelands and margins? 

Week 1: Introduction to Psychogeography

Begin your journey by exploring what psychogeography means through a range of definitions and ideas. Undertake your first dérive—a guided walk led by curiosity—and share your findings with your peers when you’re ready.

Week 2: Approaches and Methods

Discover how different artists use psychogeographic approaches to explore place. Compare and contrast their creative methods, and start to think about which approaches might resonate with your own practice.

Week 3: Multiple Voices and Narratives

Explore how different voices, contexts, and stories shape our understanding of place. Question how maps represent—or misrepresent—the world, and experiment with creating your own psychogeographic map and creative response.

Week 4: Environment

Delve into the relationship between people and landscape. Consider the distinctions between the flâneur, walking, and the dérive, and how these practices connect to mapping. Explore the concept of ecopoetry and create a personal response to a changing environment you’ve experienced.

Week 5: Process and Materials

Investigate how artists and photographers use materials and techniques to express a sense of place. Reflect on how creative choices communicate emotion and meaning to an audience, and explore how the process itself can become part of your artistic language.

Week 6: Investigation in Practice

Put theory into action by venturing out and making new creative work. Use your chosen methods and media to explore a place independently. Follow your instincts, experiment freely, and let your ideas unfold naturally through making.

Week 7: Reviewing and Sharing Progress

Take stock of your work so far and begin shaping your ideas into a clearer project direction. Prepare a short, informal update or presentation to share with your peers during next week’s online meet-up.

Weeks 8–9: Project Refinement and Reflection

Use these weeks to refine, complete, and reflect on your creative investigations. Continue developing your project while receiving feedback from your tutor, bringing together your understanding of psychogeography in practice.

Week 10: End of Course Social and Showcase

Celebrate your creative journey with an informal online social and exhibition. Share your final project, connect with your peers, and reflect on how your understanding of place and psychogeography has evolved.

Use these weeks to refine, complete, and reflect on your creative investigations. Continue developing your project while receiving feedback from your tutor, bringing together your understanding of psychogeography in practice.

Week 10: End of Course Social and Showcase

Celebrate your creative journey with an informal online social and exhibition. Share your final project, connect with your peers, and reflect on how your understanding of place and psychogeography has evolved.

Live sessions usually take place during weeks 1, 6, 8 and 10 midweek, either lunchtime or early evening – this may be subject to change, and a schedule of events will be provided during the two week induction period. 

On completion of the course, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles associated with psychogeography as a methodology in relation to investigating a specific place/location.
• Evaluate different methods for investigating place/location apply these to a psychogeographic journey.
• Produce creative work that responds to specific places/locations using a range of artists’ mediums and methods.
• Communicate the results of creative work accurately and coherently, developing lines of enquiry that are grounded in the theories and concepts of a psychogeographic approach to exploring place.

Investigating Place with Psychogeography can be completed through an exploration of your outdoor environment, at home or a combination of the two.

This course is delivered entirely online through OCA Learn. Most of our learning materials are original and have been specially commissioned for this programme. If any course videos are subject to UK rights restrictions your will not impact your learning.

Through our interactive online environment, you will develop your creative practice, visual research, and reflective writing skills. Working alongside a small peer group and with the support of a tutor, you will:

• Explore new ways to create and share your work.
• Collaborate and connect in group forums.
• Attend live group video sessions to discuss course readings, case studies, and reflections.

At the end of this short course, you will produce a creative investigation that responds to a specific place using the principles of psychogeography. Your work will also become part of a permanent course archive.

There is no formal, graded exam (summative assessment) for this course. Instead, you will receive a personalised summary feedback report from your tutor at the conclusion of the programme.

• You’ll need your own computer and internet access.
• You’ll need to purchase your own art resources and equipment, which will be dependant on your own creative practice.