Reconstructing Boston: Photography & Collage Workshop with Dana Smith

How can photography help us reimagine the places we know?

In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore photography as a material for creative experimentation through collage, layering, mixed media, and found imagery. Using personal photographs, archival materials, text, and ephemera, you'll create original works that reflect on Boston's history, neighborhoods, architecture, identity, and imagined future.

Through demonstrations, discussion, and guided studio time, participants will develop new approaches to storytelling while expanding their photographic practice beyond the traditional print.

You'll Explore

• Contemporary collage and mixed-media practices
• Combining photography with drawing, painting, and found materials
• Visual symbolism and narrative building
• Working with archival and found imagery
• Hand-cut and digital collage techniques

Workshop Includes

• Artist presentation and discussion
• Guided hands-on collage exercises
• Individual experimentation and creative exploration
• Group critique and reflection

What to Bring

Please bring any materials you'd like to incorporate into your work, such as:

• Personal photographs
• Magazines and newspapers
• Vintage ephemera
• Archival or found images
• Paper and sketchbooks
• Pens, markers, colored pencils, watercolor, or other favorite art supplies

Materials Provided by the PRC

• Glue sticks
• Scissors
• Assorted collage materials
• Shared bin of papers, magazines, and found imagery
• Additional basic art supplies