Postcards describing the Kwantlen Fine Arts Field School
to Paris/Documenta are now hot off the presses.

After a great deal of planning, consulting, and coordination, I am pleased to announce that I will be participating in and helping lead a field school to Paris and Documenta XIII next spring/summer 2012. Some of you have known for a while about this trip and my desire to travel with students and visit the art works, monuments, museums, and urban sites that we discuss and explore in art history classes and seminars. That desire, together with the once-every-five years opportunity to attend Documenta-- arguably one of the most important international contemporary art exhibitions on the planet-- culminated in talks with Kwantlen Polytechnic University's International Programming people to help put together an overseas trip and accompanying courses that students could take advantage of. For this field school, I will be working with artist and Kwantlen Studio Faculty member Nancy Duff, who will be coordinating with me to offer an integrated approach to the art history and studio courses offered on the trip.

Two three-credit upper level art history and fine arts studio
classes are being offered as part of the trip.

The field school itself consists of two courses that students can choose to enrol in (one or both): my art history class ARTH 3100: Paris, The Art and Spectacle of Modern Life and Nancy Duff's FINA 3202: Contemporaty Studio Based on Modernist Themes. Both classes earn students third year credits towards the BFA degree offered at Kwantlen and/or are potentially transferable to other institutions. The courses will run initially at Kwantlen's main campus from May 1-19th as twice weekly 3 hour courses. During this time, important core material will be covered in both courses to prepare students for the trip and time spent on the ground in Europe.

The Vancouver-based coursework will be followed by a two week break and then the trip to Paris will depart Vancouver for two weeks, leaving June 2nd and returning June 17th. A full itinerary of visits and activities are planned in Paris including trips to the Orsay, Louvre, L'Orangerie, Jeu de Paume, Arc de Triomphe, Montmarte at Night, Versailles, Cinema Museum, Museum of French Monuments, Tuileries Garden, European House of Photography, Eiffel Tower, Opera, the Paris Cemetery and much much more. For those students who decide to stay on and visit Documenta XIII with Nancy and I, there will be a small additional cost for travel and hotel, extending the trip by another 3-5 days.

Details about the trip include a whole host of
visits to local museums and attractions in Paris,
with the optional visit to Documenta XIII.

The program fee is $1800 and includes accommodations in Paris, all city transportation, museum/site admissions, and 3 group meals. Flight, personal expenses, most meals and tuition are not included in the program fee. This allows students a shot at booking their own flight on points or through other special arrangements (leaving open the option to continue travels in Europe) and making individual decisions around the many food options in Paris. There will however be a group flight option that students can book early next year. At this time, the Documenta trip to Kassel, Germany (a short distance by train) is not mandatory and will be part of an optional addition to the trip which we anticipate to come in under $400. We are also accepting limited applications from students who wish to take the trip to Paris without taking the courses.

If you are a student at a university other than Kwantlen Polytechnic and are interested in taking the classes for credit (ideally, we would like to see 6 credits of art history-type courses completed before we consider you for registration), we can assist you in the quick and easy process of temporarily applying for the summer semester. If you are interested in taking the trip and paying the program fee but not taking the classes, we will be accepting a limited number of students to join the group based on their willingness to participate as engaged observers. Students participating in the field school can also choose to participate in the Paris Language Field School that will run classes the same time as our school and be in Paris during the two weeks prior to our arrival. This allows students a chance to be in Paris for a full month, taking French language courses for credit, and then joining our group for the art history and/or studio classes-- a wonderful bonus!

Seating is limited and we will be accepting applications on a first-come, first-served basis
until January 31, 2012.

Application Instructions: very shortly, you will be able to upload an application form at kwantlen.ca/exchange/field_schools.html. I will also continue to update this post with any additional information as it becomes available. For now, please contact me directly if you have any specific questions and/or are interested and know you will be applying to the program so that I can secure your name on our list. **edited to add: see this new Prezi Presentation for even more details

Spaces in the field school are limited and we will be accepting applications on a first-come, first-served basis until January 31, 2012 with a $500 non-refundable deposit (which will go towards your program fee). Student loans can also be applied to this trip as long as you take 9 credits during the summer semester.

We look forward to a dynamic and wonderful trip and would love to have you join us in Europe next year!