Last Friday, I attended a free FieldWork Workshop demonstration facilitated by Octavio Campos. Local artists, including Jenni Person, Priscilla Marrero and Bill Spring, shared work so that performing artists, such as dancers, choreographers, writers, musicians and even puppeteers, who are interested in participating in future FieldWork Workshops could learn about the various modes of feedback offered by the program.

The Field. Ocatvio Campos.

The structure is simple: show work, gather in a circle, give feedback about each piece (following a specific feedback model), and an open discussion. The primary goal of FieldWork is to provide a place for local performing artists to share and receive relevant feedback about their work. It provides artists with a structured forum, not a free-for-all, that asks participants to give honest, immediate and specific feedback about one’s experience of a piece—what the viewer saw, felt, heard, smelled and the ideas that emerged.

Since 1992, The Field has facilitated the professional and artistic development of 100 Miami-based artists. Facilitated by Camposition since 2006, the workshops are usually weekly or bi-monthly sessions aimed at cultivating insight into composition and strengthening an artists’ ability to give critical commentary. At the end of each FieldWork, participating artists give an informal showing that’s open to the public.

“The visual arts are thriving in Miami, “ Campos said as he pointed toward Wynwood. “But Miami-based performance artists are struggling to get local support.” The Field is doing what it can to fill that space between support and no support. Although The Field cannot support every artist and every aspect of an artist’s career, it’s one of the few local institutions safeguarding the future of Miami’s performing artists.

To participate in future FieldWork Workshops, visit Camposition.