Photography as an Agent for Change 2026

Call for Proposals of Workshop Curriculum

Photographic Center Northwest (PCNW) is excited to present our fifth year of Photography as an Agent for Change, a workshop series exploring photography as a tool for advancement in racial equity, social justice, environmental justice, visual literacy, creative practice, storytelling, and cross-cultural communications. PCNW seeks proposals for curriculum that further these ideas and values. The workshops are intended to reach a broad, diverse audience and be as accessible as possible. As such, it is a priority that the workshops be free and open to all and may be held online or in person. Proposals that consider teaching beyond the traditional classroom walls are encouraged, so think outside the box!

Deadline

December 8, 2025

Call Details

The workshop series will launch in Winter 2026 and include a total of 3-5 workshops. Workshops will be scheduled on mutually agreeable dates and will occur between March and November of 2026. Proposals may be submitted by individuals, teaching teams, organizations, and/or collectives.

Examples of workshops we have offered in this series include:

Agent for Change Series 2025, including:
- Yes, And: Portraits, Power and Poetry
- Make Way: Queer Identity, Community, and You
- The Social Tool of Wabi Sabi: A Cross-Cultural Practice
- Memory and Healing: Photographic Archives of Marginalized Experiences
Emotions to Thoughtful Action: A Photographic Journey
Women Behind The Camera
Capturing The Heart of The International Chinatown District: Year of the Tiger
Picturing America: A Historical Approach To Visual Literacy
Visualize Justice: The Intersection of Photography and Advocacy

Compensation & Responsibilities

Those selected are expected to teach and will receive $60/hour for their teaching hours as well as five hours of workshop prep time. PCNW will be responsible for marketing, registration, classroom booking, and administration duties such as student and faculty evaluations. At the conclusion of the program, all educators will be invited to participate in a debrief session.

Curricular Proposals should address/include the following:

How the curriculum approaches the concept of photography as a tool for change.
Length of session. The intention is to have most workshops reasonably taught within a 2-8 hour timeframe, in 1-3 sessions.
Ideal workshop student size.
Format of workshop, whether virtual or in-person.
Curriculum should complement the size of the workshop in order to maximize engagement. For example, if the workshop is online, your workshop maximum student size may be bigger than an in-person workshop. Our classes and workshops that utilize the darkroom, studio, or digital labs are typically capped at 12 students.
Curriculum may be presentation-based or interactive, but should leave room for workshop participant dialogue and may include homework or creation/production of work or ideas outside of meeting
A brief description of topics covered, intended audience(s) and a list of learning objectives (what participants will understand and/or be able to do as a result of the workshop)
A description of activities or homework, including their objectives and outcomes, if applicable
Any potential guest lecturers or co-facilitators

Evaluation — Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Alignment with initiative’s intentions around social change (racial equity, social justice, environmental justice, visual literacy, creative practice, storytelling, and cross cultural communications) and increasing access to a broad, diverse audience

Strength of goals & outcomes

Feasibility and experience. A teaching degree is not required, but applications should indicate some level of past teaching experience

Submit

Submit a letter of interest, resume, and curriculum outline to education@pcnw.org by December 8, 2025. All proposals will be carefully reviewed by PCNW staff. Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian (BBIA); and LGBTQIA+ individuals are encouraged to apply. Notifications will be made in late December with the intention of the first workshop in the series taking place in March.