The Unsold Stroll by Mushtari Afroz

Situated at the intersection of urban sociology, performance studies and performance art, the interdisciplinary research project titled ‘The Unsold Stroll: Identifying and Disrupting the Performance of Consumerism on King Street West One Foot at a Time’ explores, on foot, forces have helped stage consumerism as the dominant spatial logic on many popular streets in contemporary Toronto—most notably, King Street West. King Street West has increasingly come to embody the logic of consumerism where both representations of space— those conceived by urban planners, developers, and policymakers—and representational spaces— the lived, embodied experiences and everyday performances of those who move through and dwell within the city, work in tandem to transform the street into a curated stage for the performance of consumption. Within this spectacle, alternative narratives—those that fall outside the logic of consumption yet remain vital to the richness and complexity of public space—are pushed to the margins. Yet, it is precisely within this tightly controlled and performative environment of consumption that a reflective and performative walker can carve out temporary ruptures—cracks in the spectacle—through subtle acts of presence, observation, and movement that gesture toward meanings beyond the consumer script. Drawing on Michel de Certeau’s concept of the “pedestrian speech act”, which views walking not merely as bipedalism but as a spatial tactic for ‘speaking’ and ‘writing’ the city, this project engages two research questions: How might the act of urban walking reveal the structural(representations of space) and performative(representational space) mechanisms tied to neoliberal capitalist logic that enforce the logic of consumerism on King Street West? And further, how might such a practice not only expose the underlying ideological forces but also disrupt them, even if only momentarily? Through a research-creation methodology this project unfolds in two parts: unfolds in two parts: Part I positions the researcher as a flâneur-as-detective and flâneur-as-producer—two aspects of urban flânerie popularized by 20th century German cultural critic Walter Benjamin—to stroll, observe, and document the structural and performative mechanisms on the street that uphold the logic of consumerism under the banner of urban revitalization. The documentation is conducted through photography and aphoristic text production. Part II introduces a performative intervention with five dancers who embody the figure of the performative flâneur, using dandyism, spoken word performances, and choreographed movement to momentarily disrupt the consumerist performance of the street, opening up alternative ways of engaging with urban space.

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Situated at the intersection of urban sociology, performance studies and performance art, the interdisciplinary research project titled ‘The Unsold Stroll: Identifying and Disrupting the Performance of Consumerism on King Street West One Foot at a Time’ explores, on foot, forces have helped stage consumerism as the dominant spatial logic on many popular streets in contemporary Toronto—most notably, King Street West. King Street West has increasingly come to embody the logic of consumerism where both representations of space— those conceived by urban planners, developers, and policymakers—and representational spaces— the lived, embodied experiences and everyday performances of those who move through and dwell within the city, work in tandem to transform the street into a curated stage for the performance of consumption. Within this spectacle, alternative narratives—those that fall outside the logic of consumption yet remain vital to the richness and complexity of public space—are pushed to the margins. Yet, it is precisely within this tightly controlled and performative environment of consumption that a reflective and performative walker can carve out temporary ruptures—cracks in the spectacle—through subtle acts of presence, observation, and movement that gesture toward meanings beyond the consumer script. Drawing on Michel de Certeau’s concept of the “pedestrian speech act”, which views walking not merely as bipedalism but as a spatial tactic for ‘speaking’ and ‘writing’ the city, this project engages two research questions: How might the act of urban walking reveal the structural(representations of space) and performative(representational space) mechanisms tied to neoliberal capitalist logic that enforce the logic of consumerism on King Street West? And further, how might such a practice not only expose the underlying ideological forces but also disrupt them, even if only momentarily? Through a research-creation methodology this project unfolds in two parts: unfolds in two parts: Part I positions the researcher as a flâneur-as-detective and flâneur-as-producer—two aspects of urban flânerie popularized by 20th century German cultural critic Walter Benjamin—to stroll, observe, and document the structural and performative mechanisms on the street that uphold the logic of consumerism under the banner of urban revitalization. The documentation is conducted through photography and aphoristic text production. Part II introduces a performative intervention with five dancers who embody the figure of the performative flâneur, using dandyism, spoken word performances, and choreographed movement to momentarily disrupt the consumerist performance of the street, opening up alternative ways of engaging with urban space.
Mushtari Afroz - The Unsold Stroll - 2025
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Score 4: Critical Destination

How might the street be transformed into a critical destination that encourages collective decision making, critical reflection, and acts of resistance among strollers and other inhabitants within an urban landscape increasingly shaped by consumerism?

Score 4: Critical Destination

Performative Flanerie in response to Score 1

Performative Flanerie in response to Score 1

Score 1 created by Mushtari Afroz

Score 1: The Act of Walking

How might we present our bodies on the street in ways that resist the logic of consumption embedded in urban movement? What alternative aesthetics, postures, or paces of walking can disrupt the spatial norms tied to productivity and economic exchange?

A walk with a playful question, 'To cake or not to cake?, invited pedestrians and patio patrons at the popular destination at King and Portland to reflect within a space largely defined by consumerism.

In response to Score 4 created by Mushtari Afroz

Performative Flaneries in response to Score 1

Score 1 created by Mushtari Afroz

Uncommodified Pauses - Public Speaking

Spoken Word Performance by Rajvi Dedhia at the intersection of King Street West and Charlotte Street in response to Score 3

Score 3 created by Mushtari Afroz
Response by Rajvi Dedhia

Momentarily transforming the popular destination at King and Portland into a site of critical engagement through a 29-step choreography that invited spatial negotiation and encounters with the Other within a space that is otherwise governed by capitalist-consumerist logic that actively seeks to erase all forms of anomaly.

Uncommodified Pauses - Public Speaking

Spoken Word Performance by Rajvi Dedhia in response to Score 3 at the intersection of King Street West and Charlotte Street

Score 3 created by Mushtari Afroz
Response by Rajvi Dedhia

A walk with a playful question, 'To cake or not to cake?', invited pedestrians and patio patrons at the popular destination of King and Portland to reflect within a space largely defined by consumerism, in response to Score 4 created by Mushtari Afroz.

The walk was led by Mushtari, with the question displayed on a piece of pink art paper hanging from her back as she strolled along the sidewalk, carrying a piece of cake on a tray in her hand.

Score 3: Uncommodified Pauses

a. What is your positionality on the consumer culture?

b.Reflect on a moment when you existed outside the logic of consumption—not buying, selling, or engaging in activities tied to economic value. What was the sensory experience of non-consumption—what did the space look, smell, feel and sound like?

Uncommodified Pauses: Spoken Word Performance by Rachana Joshi

Uncommodified Pauses - Spoken Word Performance by Rajvi Dedhia at the intersection of King Street West and Charlotte Street in response to Score 3

Score 3 created by Mushtari Afroz
Response by Rajvi Dedhia

Uncommodified Pauses - Spoken Word Performance by Rachana Joshi in response to Score 3

Performative Flanerie in response to Score 1

Galloping while crossing the intersection

Score 1 created by Mushtari Afroz

Uncommodified Pauses - Spoken Word Performance.

In response to Score 3, Rachana Joshi is enacting a moment in which she finds herself outside the logic of consumerism.

Uncommodified Pauses - Spoken Word Performance. Nidhi Baadkar is delivering a public speech on her positionality on the consumer culture in response to Score 3

Score 3 created by Mushtari Afroz
Response by Nidhi Baadkar

Uncommodified Pauses - Spoken Word Performance by Nidhi Baadkar

Uncommodified Pauses - Public Speaking

Spoken Word Performance by Nidhi Baadkar in response to Score 3

Score 3 created by Mushtari Afroz
Response by Nidhi Baadkar

Uncommodified Pauses - Spoken word performance by Nidhi Baadkar in response to Score 3

Score 3 created by Mushtari Afroz
Response by Nidhi Baadkar

Performative Flanerie in response to Score 1

Score created by Mushtari Afroz

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