ABSTRACT
This chapter peovides the case for a revision of arts education to better prepare students for life in contemporary culture. It argues that the Master of Fine Arts degree is in need of a restructuring based in expanding the context of the educational experience beyond the physical confines of the university to embrace the world at large. The central contribution of this project resides in its contention that field programming can make a meaningful contribution to this restructuring. As evidenced in the author discussions, field programming intersects and engages a broader array of options for art making and student engagement than traditionally is offered in a studio only art practice. All of the programs began with a fundamental commitment to reconnect contemporary art students with their home environment. Each in its own way supports student agency by providing the opportunity to spend uninterrupted time in direct, physical, unmediated connection with the planet.
