About the Fellowship

PowerLines is seeking an experienced documentary photographer for its 2026 Photography Fellowship, a three-month program dedicated to humanizing the impact of rising utility bills on everyday consumers and communities across the United States.

The Visual Fellow will develop and execute an original visual project with the potential to become a public-facing book, exhibition, or story platform — and will contribute to a lasting image library that supports PowerLines' work. The project proposal should consider how communities and individuals are confronting utility costs, addressing electricity access, and the economic realities and limitations related to energy use when writing their project proposal. 

This is a paid fellowship offering a stipend of $30,000 total over the 3 month period. Fellows retain joint ownership of all images produced and are permitted to accept external, non-conflicting assignments during the fellowship period.

What You'll Do

As Visual Fellow, you will develop and execute an original photographic project — proposed by you and conducted in collaboration with PowerLines — that documents the human experience of rising utility costs in a creative, humanizing, compelling, and accessible way. In addition to your primary project, you will contribute to a scalable image library for use in PowerLines' media and communications efforts.