ABOUT THE ARCHIVE

The artifact is the medium.
The archive is the artwork.

Walking Distance is a distributed documentary archive built from small physical artifacts released into public space. Each artifact can be found, logged, kept, passed on, photographed, and folded into a growing public record.

PROJECT DEFINITION

Not a feed. Not a tracking app. A field archive.

The printed objects are the primary medium. The website exists to preserve their histories: where they surfaced, who encountered them, what traces they gathered, and how their meaning changed as they moved through public space.

HOW IT WORKS

Find one. Log it. Keep it or pass it on.

Every artifact has a unique ID and QR code. When someone finds one, they can add an approximate location, a note, and an optional photograph. No account is required.

The artifact record becomes a permanent trail: releases, sightings, notes, photographs, distance, and quiet periods.

WHY PHYSICAL

Slow by design.

Most images move through feeds and vanish. Walking Distance moves through hands, sidewalks, cafés, benches, libraries, riverside paths, and chance encounters.

WHY PARTICIPATE

The finder becomes part of the record.

Participation is simple: document the surface event. The project values small, honest traces over attention, performance, or competition.

Current status

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THE LANGUAGE OF THE ARCHIVE

Encounter: Any moment a QR code is scanned or an artifact link is opened. The artifact was found. Whether the finder left a trace is a separate question.
Trace: A completed log entry — a location, and optionally a note, name, or photograph. A trace is an encounter that chose to speak.
Silent Encounter: An encounter with no trace. The artifact was found. The finder moved on. The moment is counted but not described.
Sighting: A submitted discovery record — equivalent to a Trace. Used interchangeably in the archive.

AUTHOR

Who makes this?

Walking Distance is created by Bartosz Koszowski, a Polish-born documentary photographer based in the Boston area.

His work explores place, memory, community, and the small details that shape everyday life. This project extends that practice into a physical archive that can move through the city and gather traces from strangers.

AUTHOR WEBSITE CONTACT / COLLABORATE