A dynamic program for young artists, writers, and thinkers.

The School of Other Fields is designed for teens & young adults who are creative, curious, ambitious, and ready to stretch beyond their comfort zone.

With three seasons throughout the year, the program supports young creatives seeking the community, physical space, and guidance needed to reach toward their full potential.

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About

OTHER FIELDS is a home for young artists, bookworms, makers, and thinkers to explore the intersections of culture, human nature, and creative disciplines. Designed for those ready to sharpen their skills and broaden their perspective, it is an open space for curious minds to push the boundaries of their creative abilities alongside wholehearted mentors and peers.

Through hands-on work, close observation, and thoughtful engagement with art, literature, philosophy, and history, you’ll explore the tools and ideas that shape our lives. We value process over product, emphasizing dialogue, experimentation, and sitting with failure as a means for lasting growth. Each season is a vibrant and demanding environment that will challenge you to engage your curiosity and critical thinking—essential skills for anyone striving toward a more mature, honest, and expansive understanding our time and what it means to live “the good life.”

Put simply: OTHER FIELDS is a program built on respect for young creative minds. We believe that you have something unique to contribute to our world, not just in the future, but now.

Staff & Mentors

Program staff and mentors are an all volunteer team of creative professionals enthusiastic about student development and committed to being advocates for students on an ongoing basis. The group is composed of professional artists, designers, photographers, performers, engineers, educators and writers.

Program Director Daniel Lucas is a graphic designer, web developer, and lead of special web projects at Stanford’s GSE. He is passionate about education and finds deep joy in collaborating with students to explore their passions and develop pathways to achieve their goals.

Program Assistant Director Jeff Masamori is a designer, photographer, and Art Director at Danner. He is honored to be a part of helping young artists realize their talents, create inspiring work, and develop creative and practical skills they’ll carry with them throughout their careers.

Lead Mentor Jess Wilson is a cabinet maker and experienced team leader. He works to provide support to the mentor team through training and advising.

Organization

The School of Other Fields is a program run by Problem Library — a non-profit arts & education organization in the Inner Sunset of San Francisco.

Problem Library is building a far-seeing creative presence within society, re-utilizing existing resources for the development of contemporary art, education, and cultural infrastructure in order to provide inspiration for the development of the human spirit.

We seek to honor the problems of the world by pushing our collective resources, creativity, and energy to the furthest edge of their potential.

The projects we operate collectively represent our belief in the value of continual support for individual creative visions. In relationship to artists, we are exploring new models of organizational support that allow for the long term pursuit of work towards the betterment of human kind.

Learn more at ProblemLibrary.org

If you have any questions, or would like further information, please contact our Program Director, Daniel Lucas at daniel@problemlibrary.org

Details

OTHER FIELDS hosts three seasons throughout the year: Spring, Summer, Fall. Each season is guided by a unique theme and area of focus with curriculum specially designed to facilitate meaningful exploration and learning.

In 2025 our focuses will be:

No seasons found for this year.

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Each season is designed to introduce you to new ways of seeing, being, and engaging with the world that will have reverberations into all parts of your life. In most cases joining us for the season that sounds the *least* interesting to you, leads to the *most* interesting outcome.

Logistically each season has been crafted as a standalone experience, but the three are also profoundly intertwined. So while we encourage you to join us for all three seasons, that is not a requirement for you to apply to OTHER FIELDS. Similarly, no season is a prerequisite for any other season, meaning you can apply to Summer without having joined us for Spring.

Applications

We accept up to 7 students per season on a rolling basis.

OTHER FIELDS is open to young creatives exploring Architecture, Collage, Creative coding, Film, Graphic design, Illustration, Music, Painting, Philosophy, Photography, Poetry, Woodworking, Web design, and/or Writing. This list is not exhaustive. We encourage you to apply even if your chosen medium is not listed here.

We respond to all applications as quickly as possible. If we believe you are a fit for OTHER FIELDS, we will set up an in-person (or video) interview.

Meetings

Group meetings are on Sunday from 1—4pm (with a few exceptions for holidays).

During the summer season, we also host Forum meetings on Wednesday from 6—8pm. 

In-person attendance is required for each group meeting for the duration of the season at our studio, Problem Library, in the Inner Sunset of San Francisco (1288 15th Ave)

We allow up to 2 absences, and are flexible with travel plans or emergency situations.

Tuition

Tuition is 1,800 USD (per season) and covers all program-related expenses, including: free access to the studio during open hours, transportation & tickets for field trips, and a Season reader.

We highly encourage all interested students to apply even if the cost of tuition seems prohibitive. It is our policy that no student be denied entry to the program due to their inability to pay.

If the cost of tuition is a barrier, we can discuss scholarships, payment plans, and reduced tuition opportunities with you and your family – if you qualify. Requests for financial aid of any kind do not affect an applicant’s chances of being accepted to the program.

Upcoming Season

OTHER FIELDS hosts three seasons throughout the year, each with a specific focus.

Read on to learn more about each season. More information about future seasons will be released as we get closer to them.

Apply

We’re excited OTHER FIELDS sounds right for you. We salute your initiative and are eager to meet you.

The application below is designed to help us better understand your creative interests, history, and what you hope to gain in your creative journey this summer. To provide the best platform for you to excel, we ask that you answer each question as honestly as possible and with as much detail as you see fit. The more specific you can be, the better.

Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis. We review each application and will reach out to schedule an interview if you are a fit for the program.

We look forward to reading your application!

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If you have more questions or any issues with your application, please email us at otherfields@problemlibrary.org