About Field Studies

Led by a group of international practitioners whose work is located at the threshold of different disciplines, Field Studies alternates between open workshops, lectures and talks by the artists, and collective practice in smaller studios where students and tutors work towards the realisation of a common project or outcome which is presented, or performed on the last day of the programme.

What distinguishes Field Studies is its convivial atmosphere, its radically open pedagogy, and its commitment to doing things with theory. The biographies of the tutors and artists, their respective interests and diverse fields of practice form a starting point. The city, space for shared activities, including eating together, provide infrastructure. The final outcome and learning is ultimately constructed through the individual histories and intentions of students and artists, the ideas, questions and skills they bring, and the material and social interactions that emerge in between.

Field Studies is part of the creative universe and research output of experimental choral ensemble Musarc and its extensive network of artists, composers and singers. Questions around movement, embodiment and technique; the collective voice of the choir and its political and aesthetic dimension; rhythm, repetition and practice; and the idea of knowledge set in motion through performance and a common choreography fundamentally underlie Field Studies as a methodology.

Both Musarc and Field Studies originated in the Architecture School. Both today operate in the epistemic pluriverse of the Art School and its planetary outlook. At Field Studies, music, the chorus, and composition act as a structuring apparatus. The choral has the power to hold difference and challenge conventional notions of creative practice in education and learning, particularly in relation to the primacy of language over embodiment, and the histories bodies carry. Field Studies is not a choral summer school, but its pedagogy deploys the choral as method and as a tool to frame a shared creative practice.

Field Studies is open to and provides access to anyone interested to join. It invites applications from students and practitioners who want to test collaborative and performative processes in relation to a broad range of individual disciplines, from music and composition to fine art and design, architecture, film, poetry, time-based arts as well as curatorial practices and the field of education. To find out more about course fees and how to apply, click here.

Field Studies is organised by Musarc and curated by the ensemble’s creative director Joseph Kohlmaier. Musarc is part of CREATURE, the Centre for Creative Arts, Cultures and Engagement and the School of Art, Architecture and Design, London Metropolitan University. Field Studies 2025 is presented in collaboration with, and generously supported by Luca School of Arts, Ghent.

Field Studies 2025: Choir as Method
10–14 September 2025
Luca School of Arts
Campus Ghent, Sint-Lucas
Hoogstraat 51, 9000 Ghent
Belgium

The programme starts at 4pm on Tuesday 10 September and ends at 3pm on Saturday 14 September 2025. The evening programme of public events will be announced early August 2025.

For inquiries please contact info@musarc.org.