2025 PhotoWork Senior Fellowship

Three Senior Fellows will receive a $10,000 grant each and a dedicated Advisor for an immersive six-month photobook development program.

Overview

The PhotoWork Senior Fellowship awards a $10,000 grant to each of three photographers who demonstrate a sustained commitment to post-documentary photography and exhibit both the readiness and capability to work with a photography advisor toward creating a book maquette of a comprehensive body of work.

The Fellowship’s primary aim is to propel artists to the next stage of their careers by offering one-on-one guidance and critical exposure to experts who bring valuable skillsets in their area of expertise. Through this experience, Fellows will learn about photobook conception, editing, layout, design, production, publication, distribution, and promotion in order to prepare themselves for the journey of publishing their first photobook.

Additionally, the PhotoWork Foundation is honored to announce the Teresa Goodman Grant, a part of its Senior Fellowship, which will be awarded to a woman photographer under the age of 40 in memory of Teresa Goodman. With a master’s degree in Curatorial Practice from the California College of the Arts (CCA) and a passion for photography, Teresa was just beginning her career. Funded by her parents, William Goodman and  Victoria Belco, this generous grant aims to support and inspire mid-career women photographers. By providing financial assistance and recognition, the grant ensures that Teresa’s dedication to the craft and commitment to curatorial excellence continue to foster creativity and innovation in the field she loved.

Practical Info

Applicants must show they are at a point in their career where they are ready to publish their first monograph/photobook and must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident. They also must be able to commit to regular monthly meetings with their Advisors and publishing experts over the Fellowship period. Applicants currently enrolled in a photography degree program are not eligible.

Submissions must include an artist bio, an artist statement, a statement of intent, a history of any relevant experiences and achievements, a description of the artistic process, references, and a PDF edit of a potential book project with 30-50 images.

A panel of industry experts will select three Senior Fellows, each of whom will receive a $10,000 grant and a dedicated Advisor for an immersive six-month photobook development program. From May to October 2025, Fellows and their Advisors will focus on developing a photobook project and participate in online sessions led by publishing industry experts.

Each Fellow will be carefully matched with a photobook Advisor from the list of esteemed PhotoWork Foundation Mentors and Advisors, which includes industry leaders like Dannielle Bowman, Kelli Connell, Lois Conner, Carolyn Drake, Doug DuBois, Rahim Fortune, Ron Jude, Raymond Meeks, Kristine Potter, Wendy Red Star, and Bryan Schutmaat.

About PhotoWork Foundation

The PhotoWork Foundation supports the development and education of post-documentary photographic artists and cultivates an audience for their work. Through a diverse program of outreach to individual artists and those who will be enriched by the results of their sustained efforts, the Foundation seeks to empower an aspect of photography that is most often not commercially viable but is essential to the collective understanding of what it looks like to be living in society today.