04/22/2026
This is an Open Call. Only 8 spots available. Open Call will end August 31st. The show will open October 16th 2026. Email your submission at [email protected]
Unseen Workers is a documentary-style exhibition that focuses on life beyond the labor, not on labor as a spectacle, but on the person and the interior world that exists after the shift ends, the identity that is not defined by how society ranks jobs.
This Show Is Not
• A voyeuristic look at labor.
• About capturing labor as spectacle.
• About “hard work” as a moral performance.
• About a savior narrative
This exhibition is looking for artists, photographers, filmmakers, writers, and documentarians interested in telling honest, collaborative stories about people whose labor keeps the city running.
The subject’s job may appear, but it should not be the whole story.
Accepted Mediums
• Documentary photography
• Short documentary video
• Audio portraits or oral histories
• Written fragments (quotes, reflections, interviews)
• Mixed-media documentary approaches
We strongly encourage work that:
• Includes the subject’s own voice
• Allows the subject agency in how they are shown
• Resists stereotypes or romanticization
Who Should Apply
• Artists with an interest in documentary storytelling
• Artists working in collaboration with their subjects
• Artists who care about ethics, respect, and real human presence
• Artists connected to Philadelphia and its working communities (strongly encouraged)
Submission Requirements
• Artist statement (brief)
• Description of the project and relationship to the subject
• Images, video links, audio samples, or writing excerpts
• Confirmation that the subject has consented to participation