Provincetown, MA USA – The Provincetown Compact announces the 2026 dune shack residency applications are now open. The Compact is pleased to offer residences for C-Scape and Fowler Dune Shacks in the Cape Cod National Seashore, available April through November for the general public with applications due January 15, 2025. thecompact.org/dune-shacks.html
The Compact also offers three, 3-week artist and two writer residencies including a residency for an emerging artist of color, named for the late David Bethuel Jamieson, a Black artist who spent time in Provincetown and died of AIDS in 1992. The top recipient of this residency will receive three funded weeks in the C-Scape Dune Shack and a $500 fellowship. Another 3-week stay also includes a $500 fellowship. Artist residents are selected by a jury.
An emerging artist of color is defined as one who has yet to receive a major exhibition or showcasing opportunities and has not had extensive media coverage for their work. Artists of all ages may apply.
Writers may apply for one of two one-week residencies underwritten by The Compact, chosen by lottery. Two additional writers’ weeks are also available in collaboration with the Fine Arts Work Center. The Compact also offers week stays to Helping Our Women, Provincetown Schools and the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod.
The Compact will continue to underwrite a week for a Native American in collaboration with the Native Land Conservancy (NLC) and continue its voluntary Honor Tax request for all applicants (contributions are tax-deductible). This is an opportunity to move beyond land acknowledgement and offer financial support for the use of unceded land. Last year $2,000 was raised for NLC.
“An Honor Tax is a tangible way of honoring the sovereignty of the Wampanoag and other Native American Nations. It should not be thought of as a gift but rather a step towards repair and healing,” states Compact Director Jay Critchley. “We encourage other organizations and individuals to create an Honor Tax,” he added.
The two historic dune shacks that The Compact manages, Fowler and C-Scape Shacks, are among the nineteen shacks located within Peaked Hill Bars National Register Historic District of the Cape Cod National Seashore. The shacks are primitive — no electricity or indoor plumbing — and isolated, allowing for uninterrupted solitude and refuge. The Compact maintains and administers these shacks under an agreement with the Seashore.
The Provincetown Community Compact, Inc. (The Compact), celebrating its 33nd year, was established in 1993 as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization by artist Jay Critchley. It is a community-building and philanthropic organization that supports artists and the vitality of the community.
The mission of The Compact is to advance the health and cultural well-being of the community of Provincetown and the Outer Cape – its people, the natural environment and the economy. Additional initiatives include: The Swim for Life (set for September 12, 2026), the Think-ubator program, which has birthed eight non-profits, Prayer Ribbons and its new, Underrepresented Communities project, and special community projects. The concept for The Compact was to recreate an inclusive, visionary, and fully democratic contract with the community, reimagining the original Mayflower Compact, which was signed in Provincetown Harbor in 1620.
Contact: Jay Critchley, Founder & Director
Provincetown Community Compact
(774) 840-0458
