One Year Program: The Photographic Condition
A Practice & Theory-based Learning Program in Photography & Visual Language.
HEAD TUTORS
Laia Abril
Eduardo Cadava
Joan Fontcuberta
Susan Meiselas
Sylvia Sachini
ELECTIVE WORKSHOPS
TUTORS
Enri Canaj
Alix Marie
Maria Mavropoulou
Max Pinckers
GUEST TUTORS
Rosalind C. Morris
Oluremi C. Onabanjo
Taryn Simon
Manolis Moresopoulos
DURATION
Feb – Oct 2026
ENTRY DEADLINE
Early Bird: 10 Dec 2025
Regular: 13 Jan 2026
HYBRID
In-person (Athens) & Online
FOCUS
Artistic Practice
Development
Photo © Susan Meiselas
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The APhRC will curate a one year long program on The Photographic Condition, in which emerging and mid-career practitioners can learn and create in a collaborative setting. The Program invites participants to Athens for three primary workshops, two elective workshops, portfolio reviews, studio visits and tours during the year with renowned photographers, and offers a series of lectures that they can access online from wherever they are. The lectures will be delivered by photographers and visual artists, historians and theorists of photography, and curators, and are meant to cover the entire range of photographic practice and discourse.
INTEGRATING PRACTICE & THEORY
The APhRC is committed to bringing together practice and theory, in the conviction that photographic practice is enhanced when its practitioners gain a literacy in relation to the medium and its sister visual arts. Through a rich and distinctive curriculum and a deeply committed faculty and staff, the APhRC supports each participant’s personal and professional development throughout the year.
For full biographies of all 2026 workshop leaders, please visit our Workshop Tutors page.
IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS IN ATHENS
In Athens, participants will attend in-person workshops, and enjoy full access to the Research Center’s library, darkroom, and study spaces. In our first year—February 2026 to October 2026—the workshops will be led by Joan Fontcuberta, Susan Meiselas & Eduardo Cadava, and Laia Abril. Introducing participants to their own photographic practices, workshop leaders will help participants refine their conceptual frameworks, deepen their methods, and situate their practice within broader artistic and cultural discourses, even as it remains grounded in their own unique voice and context.
ELECTIVE WORKSHOPS
In addition to the three main workshops, participants will elect one of two supplemental workshops during each of their stays in Athens. The workshops will be convened led by Enri Canaj and Maria Mavropoulou in February, and Alix Marie and Max Pinckers in October. These workshops are meant to reinforce the primary workshops and are led by well-known local and international practitioners.
THEORETICAL STRAND
A dedicated theoretical strand, led by Eduardo Cadava, forms a central part of the program. Drawing on his influential work in the fields of photography and the visual arts, Cadava’s seminars explore photography’s relationship to memory and history, positioning image-making as both a philosophical and political act. Cadava will invite several guests who will be showcasing their work, including Taryn Simon, Oluremi C. Onabanjo, and Rosalind C. Morris. These sessions invite participants to engage with photography as a form of critical thinking, enabling them to ground their practice within broader theoretical and cultural frameworks. They aim to provide participants with an open and flexible lexicon with which to think about the practice of photography—about what it means to see and think photographically, about what it means to create and read a photograph, and about how to imagine photographic projects. Alongside the theoretical sessions, the program includes dedicated classes on writing about one’s own practice—ranging from artist statements to reflective, research-informed texts—designed to support participants in articulating their work with clarity, depth, and critical precision across both creative and professional platforms.
HYBRID LEARNING MODEL
Through this singular combination of in-person meetings, workshops with international and local tutors, online lectures, studio visits, experimental exercises, collaborative formats, group reviews, and continuous mentorship, participants will be supported in producing a substantial body of work, shaped through active dialogue, reflection, and rigorous experimentation. This hybrid model is designed to fit into the participants’ working lives, combining three in-person meeting weeks in Athens (February, June, and October 2026) with monthly remote sessions and lectures.
Participants will have access to the Athens Photo Festival (June and July 2026) and offered a free pass, portfolio reviews, tours, and events.
CRITICAL & COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY
The APhRC promotes photography as a research-based, socially aware, and politically conscious practice. It invites participants to challenge conventions, build new narratives, and situate their projects within a wider cultural discourse. The program fosters a critical community—local and international—built on exchange, curiosity, and care. It welcomes participants refining an ongoing project or starting something entirely new and provides an opportunity to connect with leading voices and practitioners in the fields and to further their practice in a supportive and nurturing context.
2026 Program Timeline
Applications open: 10 November 2025
Early Bird deadline: 10 December 2025
Final Application deadline: 13 January 2026
Early Bird Notifications: by 11 December 2025
Early Bird Installment Due: 27 December 2025 – 50% payment
Early Bird Installment Due: 20 January 2026 – 50% full payment
Acceptance Notifications: by 15 January 2026
Regular Installment Due: 17 January 2026 – 50% payment
Regular Installment Due: 20 February 2026 – 50% full payment
Contact us for installment schedule, structured according to individual needs.
I. February 26 – March 4, 2026
Workshop 1: Joan Fontcuberta (4 days)
Elective Workshop 1A: Enri Canaj (3 days)
Elective Workshop 1B: Maria Mavropoulou (3 days)
II. June 15 – 21, 2026
Workshop 2: Susan Meiselas and Eduardo Cadava (4 days)
Reviews 1-1 with Publisher & Curator (2 days)
Athens Photo Festival: Portfolio reviews, tours, and events (1 day)
III. October 19–25, 2026
Workshop 3: Laia Abril (4 days)
Elective Workshop 3A: Alix Marie (3 days)
Elective Workshop 3B: Max Pinckers (3 days)
MARCH
Week 1: Eduardo Cadava: Introduction: “Genealogies of Memory and Perception”
Week 2: Reviews 1-1
Week 3: Guest Lecturer: Taryn Simon
Week 4: Reviews 1-1
APRIL
Week 1: Eduardo Cadava: seminar on Charles Baudelaire (selected poems)
Week 2: Reviews 1-1
Week 3: Eduardo Cadava: seminar on Nadar’s When I Was a Photographer
Week 4: Reviews 1-1
MAY
Week 1: Eduardo Cadava: seminar on Siegfried Kracauer’s “Photography”
Week 2: Reviews 1-1
Week 3: Reviews 1-1
JUNE
Week 1: Guest Lecturer: Oluremi C. Onabanjo
Week 2: Eduardo Cadava: seminar on Jacques Derrida’s Athens, Still Remains
JULY
Week 1: Reviews 1-1
Week 2: Reviews 1-1
SEPTEMBER
Week 1: Reviews 1-1
Week 2: Guest Lecturer: Rosalind C. Morris
Week 3: Eduardo Cadava: seminar on Roland Barthes’s Camera Lucida
Week 4: Reviews 1-1
OCTOBER
Week 1: Eduardo Cadava: seminar on Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red
Week 2: Reviews 1-1
Week 3: Reviews 1-1
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PROGRAM COSTS
The fee for our one year program has been kept as low as possible to grant access to the largest range of participants possible. This fee covers participation in the Athens-based workshops, access to online lectures and seminars, portfolio reviews, additional meetings with Athens-based photographers, and continuous mentorship during the year. In addition, participants are granted full access to the Research Center’s library, darkroom, and study spaces during the entire period.
The full program fee is €3,500, subject to evaluation and selection.
An early-bird rate of €2,900 is offered for a limited number of seats, for applicants applying by 10 December 2025.
Applicants who are not selected for one of these slots will be automatically moved to consideration in the regular application pool.
It does not cover transportation and accommodations for the activities in Athens.
SCHOLARSHIPS & FELLOWSHIPS
APhRC offers a limited number of merit-based scholarships and fellowships for both domestic and international students enrolled in our program to help offset the costs of participating in the program. These awards are designed to recognize and support individuals who demonstrate outstanding talent, creativity, and achievement in the field of photography.
HOUSING & TRAVEL
Accommodation and travel are completely handled by the participant and are not included in the program’s fee structure. The staff of the APhRC are happy to assist in your search and has secured some low-cost housing options.
Application Information
- Portfolio
A portfolio of 20-25 images, maximum size 1920x1080p, 72dpi and a project description. Video works can be submitted with links.
If you intend to develop a new body of work you can submit images of a previous project AND include a short description of the new project, it doesn’t have to be final. - Statement of Purpose
A one-page Statement of Purpose up to 500 words in length describing your reasons for applying to the program, discussing the 2-3 most influential photographers on your work, how you approach and research a project, and the goals of your current work. - Resume or CV
A summary of formal education, professional experience, and other relevant activities.
Graduates of the One-Year Program receive a Certificate of Completion from the Athens Photo Research Center (APhRC). While non-credit bearing, the award reflects their participation in a rigorous program of workshops, lectures, and mentorship, and is recognized as a mark of artistic practice development in photography and contemporary visual culture.
We understand that plans may change, and we aim to be as flexible as possible while ensuring the smooth organization of the program. Please read the following cancellation terms carefully:
Full refund (except for a 10% of the costs for administrative fee) if cancellation is made by 7 February 2026.
50% refund if cancellation is made by 14 February 2026.
No refund for cancellations made after 14 February 2026 or in case of no-show.
All cancellations must be submitted in writing via email to: contact@photoresearchcenter.org
Full fees must be paid by 20 February 2026.
APhRC reserves the right to cancel workshops with less than 9 participants. Students will be given a full refund. In the event of cancellation, students will be given at least twenty-one days in advance notice. APhRC reserves the right to change or alter the program advertised.