Abstract
This article traces a pedagogical shift from instructor-led museum visits to self-guided explorations of graffiti and street art in the urban environment. Initially, large-group, docent-style street excursions reproduced museum hierarchies in ways that felt intrusive in neighbourhood settings and limited students’ opportunities for learning and growth. In response, the author developed a model of small-group, self-directed field trips focused separately on graffiti and murals, foregrounding observation, documentation and collaborative interpretation. During the fall 2024 semester, pre- and post-trip surveys were administered to assess changes in students’ perceptions of graffiti and street art, their comfort navigating unfamiliar neighbourhoods, and their sense of connection to the city beyond campus. The resulting data indicate that self-guided street art field trips not only deepen art-historical understanding but also foster more positive attitudes towards urban environments and greater confidence in moving through public space. In so doing, the article proposes street art field trips as a powerful complement to museum-based rituals of art viewing, expanding the repertoire of experiential learning strategies in art history pedagogy.