PhMuseum 2026/27 Online Masterclasses Program Scholarship

Develop your photography projects working with Aaron Schuman, Charlie Engman, Erik Kessels, Salvatore Vitale, and Vasantha Yogananthan feat. Cécile Poimbœuf-Koizumi.

Overview

PhMuseum Masterclasses Programs provide you with the necessary space, time, and support to conclude a body of work. The structure is located in-between an academic program and a more autonomous process: while your personal motivation is key, the program’s resources are designed to help you focus, and weave together the threads of your practice.

Taking part will further allow you to develop a solid methodology: over eight months, your work will undergo various cycles. Presenting to the class throughout them will push you to ask new questions and challenge your ideas. You will learn to navigate phases of uncertainty, structuring a methodology that works for you – something you will carry into future bodies of work, and keep developing as your practice grows.

Another fundamental aspect is community-building: every year, participants forge relationships that last after the masterclass ends. Thanks to the international nature of the program – which has so far welcomed practitioners from all continents – these bonds are also enriched by diverse cultural and aesthetic perspectives. Participants further keep in touch with the PhMuseum team, accessing our professional network and dissemination opportunities. Events such as the International Photography Festival PhMuseum Days and publishing fair Photobook Mania, held annually in Bologna, Italy, are opportunities to meet and consolidate connections in real life.

Practical Info

Applicants need to log in to PhMuseum to submit their personal data, portfolio, and motivational letter. If you wish to be considered for the fully funded scholarship, you must include a statement explaining why you are seeking financial support and how the scholarship would impact your participation.

It is possible to take part in one or more programs, all sharing a single intake period running through 28 May, with classes beginning in October 2026 and ending in May 2027. Present your candidature before 30 April to access the discounted Early Bird fee, and be considered for the 5 fully-funded scholarships.

CRITICAE Online Masterclass On Documentary Photography

Now in its 6th edition and led by internationally renowned photographer, writer, curator, and educator Aaron Schuman, this 8-month program will guide you to expand your creative practice and research methods. Its goal is to lead you to complete a personal project, while refining your photographic voice, your relationship with the medium, and your own critical documentary strategies. Learn more and apply.

CURAE Online Masterclass On Artistic Development

Learn how to curate and communicate your professional identity. Artist and curator Erik Kessels will encourage you to look inward in order to move forward, guiding you through the possibilities and obstructions of your artistic career. You will focus on identifying what you truly care about as an artist and transform it into a cohesive creative presence, where your vision will become as intentional as the images you create and present. Learn more and apply.

FOLIO Online Masterclass On Photobook Making

Develop your photobook dummy from concept to production, working closely with photographer Vasantha Yogananthan in the 7th edition of FOLIO. As you complete a project and make it ready for publishing, you will acquire practical tools to navigate the field thanks to seminars led by Cécile Poimbœuf-Koizumi, co-founder of the publishing house Chose Commune. Learn more and apply.

IDEA Online Masterclass On Conceptual Thinking

Transform the seed of an idea into its fullest realization by learning to test, expand, 
and refine a concept into a solid body of work. Drawing on his multidisciplinary practice spanning photography, moving image, collage, text, and generative AI, Charlie Engman will guide you in developing projects that interrogate visual culture, and the dynamics 
of seeing and being seen. Learn more and apply.

MEDIAE Online Masterclass on Transmedia Storytelling

Create immersive work that transcends boundaries in this masterclass led by artist and director Salvatore Vitale, designed to explore the potential of photography through interaction with diverse media. You will engage with sound, archives, interactive platforms, video, gaming, charts, and more, with the aim of shaping a multi-layered narrative that retains its complexity. Learn more and apply.

Each Masterclass is structured across seminars, which provide theoretical and practical insights, group sessions, meant to share your progress and exchange ideas with the class, and individual sessions where you will meet the head professor and focus on your work's specific needs. A program of 10 online studio visits, shared across masterclasses, will grant you industry insight and foster cross-disciplinary exchange. You will meet artists, curators, designers, editors and art directors and develop a deeper understanding of their production, methodology, and professional roles.

Upon the program's conclusion, one or more participants across all five Masterclasses will be selected for a solo or duo exhibition at PhMuseum Lab in Bologna, Italy, scheduled for November 2027. Additionally, the photobook dummies produced during FOLIO will be exhibited at Photobook Mania, an annual event dedicated to photography and printed matter in Bologna, Italy, scheduled for October 2027, where all the projects developed across all masterclasses will be screened in a dedicated section.

Furthermore, a project will be published in the upcoming issue of PhMuseum Annual magazine with an extensive feature. All the participants’ works will be mentioned in an archival section of the same publication.

About PhMuseum

PhMuseum is a curated platform dedicated to the visual language and its culture. Since 2012 we have been focused on finding diverse ways to display photography, educate, and connect with a growing community. Our mission is to discover, support and promote photographers, working as an innovative talent incubator.

Over more than a decade, we have supported more than 100 photographers with €240,000 in cash prizes and another 300 with exhibition, residency and screening opportunities at festivals such as PhEST, Getxophoto, Organ Vida, Cortona OTM, Lagos Photo, Verzasca Foto, JIPFest and our own PhMuseum Days.