The RA is a unique institution, an independent charity with a mission to be a clear, strong voice for art and artists, where art is made, exhibited and debated. Andy Field guides us through a series of perfectly ordinary situations (going to the cinema, dancing in a club, walking in a park) and invites us to reflect on the hidden wonders of each moment shared with friends, family and even strangers. In this deeply rewarding book, Andy Field brings together history, science, psychology, queer theory, and pop culture with his love of urban life and his own experiences--both as a city-dweller and as a performance artist--to forge creative connections: walking hand-in-hand with strangers, knocking on doors, staging encounters in parked cars. The book is littered with chunks of information and psychology which feel more like anecdotes at a dinner party, as opposed to academic prose. In this deeply rewarding book, Andy Field brings together history, science, psychology, queer theory, and pop culture with his love of urban life and his own experiences―both as a city-dweller and as a performance artist―to forge creative connections: walking hand-in-hand with strangers, knocking on doors, staging encounters in parked cars.

At home with our screens, we have yet to bounce back from that disruption, yet to readopt old habits like commuting to the office or watching movies at the multiplex. Encounterism is a joyous immersion into the everyday pleasure and shared humanity we stand to lose in an increasingly digital world. Ending the book, he lists some fun and hilarious ways to pay the book forward to a stranger, to ensure our own encounter, and asks that it be done with care. A portrait that is so joyous and insightful that I couldn't help but see my own everyday interactions in a whole new light. To him, our most ordinary sidewalk interactions can be imbued with “friction and possibility … anxiety and joy.From the hairdressers's chair to sitting with others in a car, and fleeting meetings while walking in the park, Field examines the nature, grace, and importance of everyday, face-to-face human interactions. Encounterism" is a quirky but accurate way to describe the regular moments of friction that permeates our lived experience. A joyful, thoughtful, poetic exploration of everyday human encounters, reframing these overlooked moments as the unique and beautiful encounters that they are.

From the history of the haircut to the mystery of The Jetsons, Andy Field is the freshest, most down-to-earth, most constantly surprising (and endearing) explorer of urban life I've read in a while. All it took was one world-stopping pandemic that demanded we keep our distance from one another, and taught us to use technology to maintain that separation for months on end. My thoughts and feelings about getting a haircut are entirely different from his, but I felt that he was stretching out his writing. There are nine chapters with "Notes on Sources' at the end of the book that directs you to the articles read in preparation for this book. The authors little stories are good reminders about the joys of being in person for a time when we're all often focused on the potential awkwardness, tense situations, or even danger.Why auditoriums, theatres, cinemas (and the act of being-in-person) goes beyond the spatial and visual; and can even be chemical – ‘literally breathing each other in’. What understanding of the world, and of each other, are we depriving ourselves of as we spend less and less time in proximity to all these strangers and their lives that are so very different from our own? A playful, analytical, informed, and poetic exploration of the delight and transformative power of real-life encounters. We must not lose sight of working with people we love working with… Therefore, meet in person, share those experiences, get hungry together, get hot/cold together, share in each other’s pains, radiate, share in joy, confidence, awkwardness, nervousness, and everything else that defines what it is to exist on this planet – together. It always bothers me afterward, and I do my best to apologize where possible, but this book really reminded me how much deeper it can go when we don't treat people well and/or don't appreciate everyone we come into contact with.

Each essay is carefully crafted, and full of questions that lead the reader onto further contemplation. Andy Field – along with his partner Beckie Darlington – have an international programme of projects which is really helping forge the next generation of architects, planners, urban designers and flaneurs, by asking them what they want from their cities.Given Feld's theater background and openness to experience, I enjoyed imagining these experiences if they were crafted into scenes of improv and fringe theater.