Call Description

Please note: To submit work, applicants must be current members of the Photographic Resource Center through December 2025. To become a PRC Member or to renew your membership visit: https://www.prcboston.org/members/become-a-member/. Membership payment is processed through the PRC website.

This fall, the Photographic Resource Center (PRC) will welcome two artists—working independently yet side by side—to transform our gallery into a shared open studio for four weeks.

This residency supports ongoing or evolving projects in photography, video, installation, or interdisciplinary practices. In addition, each artist will create at least one new piece that engages with the PRC’s legacy—drawing on past exhibitions, printed materials, or archival ephemera—as a point of reflection, contrast, or inspiration.

This might take the form of a reimagined work, a text-based response, an archival intervention, or even a contextual nod in wall text or programming. Our goal is to foster experimentation while encouraging artists to consider the institutional frameworks that shape photographic history.

What Can Archival Engagement Look Like?

• Revisit a past PRC exhibition theme or artist as a jumping-off point
• Respond to curatorial texts or press materials from our archives
• Reference or reframe a PRC publication or exhibition title
• Integrate a found PRC text/image into their current work
• Host a public program reflecting on photographic history or image culture
  
  Note: Engagement with the archive can be subtle or direct—it’s meant to complement your practice, not redirect it.

Each Selected Artist Will Receive:

• $500 stipend
• Exclusive use of half of the PRC gallery (approx. 400 sq ft per person) for studio and exhibition preparation (Oct 13 – Nov 9)
• Individual exhibition-planning sessions and weekly feedback meetings with Catherine LeComte Lecce, PRC Director of Exhibitions and Programs
• Access to the PRC photobook library and online archives
• Opportunity to lead one public program (workshop, walkthrough, demo, community event, etc)
• Two group critique sessions with Executive Director Carl Mastandrea and select PRC board members
• Final dual exhibition (Nov 14 – 23) including shared opening reception and artist talks
• Feature coverage across PRC social media, newsletter, and press channels
• Professional documentation of final exhibition and a new headshot for your portfolio

Who Should Apply

• Photographers, lens-based artists, and interdisciplinary makers
• Early-career artists, recent grads, and students are strongly encouraged
• Artists working in analog, digital, video, alt-process, installation, or hybrid forms
• Proposals that activate the gallery through immersive or participatory elements
• Artists open to sharing process through public engagement or conversation
   

FAQ Highlights

Can collaborators apply? Yes—collaborators count as one artist slot and share the stipend.

Do I need to live in Boston? No—This is a non-live-in residency. Artists arrange their own housing and transportation but are expected to make regular use of the gallery space throughout the residency.

Photographers working in a broad range of exhibition-ready bodies of work are encouraged to apply, including traditional and non-traditional approaches to photography.

TIMELINE:
Application Opens: Tuesday, July 15
Deadline: Saturday, August 30 at 11:59 PM (ET)
Residency Dates: October 13 – November 13
Final Showcase: November 14 – 23
Artists’ Talks & Reception: November 14
De-install: Monday, November 24

Application Requirements

For a non-refundable $25 entry fee, photographers may submit 3–6 images from either an in-progress body of work or a new idea they would like to develop during the residency and present in the final exhibition. Please include checklist information, an artist statement, a brief residency proposal, and your CV.

*Application fee waivers are available for those who truly need them due to financial or access-related barriers. If this support would make a meaningful difference in your ability to apply, please contact us prior to applying.

How to Apply

• Artist Statement (250 words max)
• Residency Proposal (500 words max)
• Work Samples: 3-6 Images
• Bio & CV (2 pages max)
• Optional: Short description of a public program you might offer

FAQ Highlights

Can collaborators apply? Yes—collaborators count as one artist slot and share the stipend.

Do I need to live in Boston? No—This is a non-live-in residency. Artists arrange their own housing and transportation but are expected to make regular use of the gallery space throughout the residency.

IF YOU ARE SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE:
Selected and non-selected artists will be notified through CaFÉ via email. We expect notifications to go out between September 9 - 13. No phone calls please.

Artists must be available to provide help with unique installations and/or supply any special hardware and/or specific instructions if required for proper installation. The PRC reserves the right to refuse works whose quality does not match submission materials and will not hang works that are defective.

The PRC requests 30% commission from any work sold during the exhibition. A loan form agreement will be sent once photographers are selected and works are finalized.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must be current members of the Photographic Resource Center through December 2025. To become a PRC Member or to renew your membership visit: https://www.prcboston.org/members/become-a-member/. Membership payment is processed through the PRC website.