Fieldwork: Marfa is the joint project of two major European art schools, ESBA Nantes Métropole and HEAD-Genève. This international researcher-in-residence program is dedicated to the practice of art in public space, critical approaches to landscape and artistic projects based on field investigation methods. Residents are selected on the basis of the singularity of specific projects they present.

Fieldwork: Marfa caters to emerging artists, curators and/or researchers whose projects require immersion into the specific environment of Marfa and Texas territory, and encourages the development of experimental research methods, diverse modes of inquiries and fieldwork practices.

Fieldwork: Marfa is an inter-school research group that provides a framework for the incursions and endeavors of researchers-in-residence. The work itself fuels various joint projects, in the form of an ongoing annual program based on the participants’ residency schedules:

• A series of workshops and symposia alternating between the three schools, including working sessions;
• A schedule of meetings based on the research projects, held on home ground, in Marfa;
• An editorial and communication program showcasing the contributions or reports from various researchers, students or occasional guests.

The Fieldwork: Marfa research program is based on a one-year academic cycle. This period, during which researchers develop their own personal projects, is punctuated by a number of pre-planned milestones:

• A two-month residency period in Marfa followed by a public presentation of their ongoing research at the Fieldwork: Marfa gallery;
• A feedback period, during which the residents continue their work and present their research through the organization of seminars and workshops, meetings with teachers and students from partner schools and guest participants.
• The Fieldwork: Marfa annual meeting, held during the month of October in Marfa, invite hand-selected outside speakers to share their research and work through the issues raised through the year of the residency program.
• An online publication is constructed with the researcher-in-residence throughout the year. The editorial object is thought less as a report of the residency experience than as an extension of it.
• On the website are published a series of texts, video-portaits, various documents, and contributions by experts and guests participants showcasing research outputs and developments.

The rest of the time, the researchers-in-residence are remotely but personally in touch with one of the research directors at at ESBA Nantes Métropole, or HEAD-Genève.

2016.06.01, The Annex, Crash Magazine

2016.09.26, Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault Launches New Projects for Fieldwork Marfa, French Culture