FREE FILM : NYC Photographer in Residence

WORTHLESSSTUDIOS is pleased to announce the fourth iteration of its FREE FILM project: FREE FILM : NYC, which will travel throughout New York City. The project follows FREE FILM : CANAL, FREE FILM : USA and FREE FILM : JUNE 2020, a series of initiatives that sought to catalog our communities, our country and our world over the past three years in radically different ways, while democratizing the documentation of our ever-shifting realities. FREE FILM : NYC kicks off 2023 by turning towards WORTHLESSSTUDIOS’ home city of New York to uncover a new truth about the old topic of community.

FREE FILM : NYC follows the footsteps of the previous iterations as a meditation on community and local culture. The Airstream-darkroom will take up residency in a given neighborhood and distribute free rolls of film to the general public, and WORTHLESSSTUDIOS will partner with local artists and community organizations and hold youth workshops where students will learn how to use a film camera, focus a lens and process and print film using professional equipment provided by WORTHLESSSTUDIOS. Over the course of the next year and a half, the project will make its way around New York to document different neighborhoods.

The first neighborhood in June of 2022 was Red Hook, where WORTHLESSSTUDIOS partnered with local arts nonprofit Pioneer Works to host the Airstream-darkroom, distribute film and teach photography classes to locals.

Participating photographers of all ages were asked to photograph within the boundaries of one neighborhood at a time, responding to the prompt “ONE SQUARE MILE.” Pioneer Works’ Artist-in-Residence taught a series of workshops for 5 Red Hook Arts Project students and to interested Red Hook locals. Upon completion of the project across NYC neighborhoods, WORTHLESSSTUDIOS will produce a FREE FILM : NYC book.

WORTHLESSTUDIOS is a New York-based nonprofit providing space, materials, technical assistance and resources for aspiring artists of all backgrounds to realize their creative visions.

WORTHLESSSTUDIOS is looking for 4 resident photographers from across New York City to partner with us as part of FREE FILM : NYC. Each resident photographer will collaborate with FREE FILM for one month in the borough of their choice

The Resident Photographer will be required to:

• Have a strong film photography background, a close relationship with a borough in NYC, and experience and enthusiasm for teaching.
• As a resident photographer you will be asked to be a face of the project, lead educational workshops in your neighborhood and community and help curate the FREE FILM : NYC book.
• Develop and teach 1-2 workshops or photo walks during the period of the collaboration.
• Be involved in photographic community-based projects in the borough of their choice

WORTHLESSSTUDIOS will provide:

• $2,500 stipend for Artist.
• Access to Airstream Darkroom for 1 month
• Use of darkroom equipment and some chemicals for personal work
• 5 rolls of Kodak Tri-x 400
• Seat on photo selection committee for the book

WORTHLESSSTUDIOS will need:

• Your development of public program curriculum
• Your teaching at 4 youth workshops
• Your teaching or running of 2 public workshops or photowalks
• Your timely participation and collaboration on meeting with selection committee to finalize a selection of images for the book