CREATIVE IMMERSION ’04 with Mimi Plumb, Carolyn Drake & Gregory Harris
BOWEN ISLAND, OCTOBER 1-3, 2026
DESCRIPTION
Seven years after the inaugural “FOTOFILMIC CREATIVE IMMERSION” Retreat on Bowen Island back in the fall of 2019, we are thrilled to finally offer a second home base edition of our popular 3-day intensive work review program at the start of October!
Creative Immersion Retreats aim at offering a small group of photographers the opportunity to receive multiple-focus, in-depth review time of their work and practice at large in a longer format than typical portfolio reviews that can encourage sustained conversation and activate practical solutions to creative blocks. Headed by highly recognized practitioners and influential shapers of contemporary photographic culture, Creative Immersion retreats also provides participants with grounding elements of community, connection, belonging, and visibility, while lending their work a generous, safe and open gallery context for meaningful, collegial examination and reinvention.
Leading this 4th program edition are acclaimed artists Mimi Plumb and Carolyn Drake, both West Coast photographers, recipients of the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship and authors of many highly sought-after books, and Atlanta-based High Museum of Art Photography Curator Gregory Harris, who successfully mounted over a dozen groundbreaking exhibitions there over the past decade. Each of these mentors will offer the attending group tailored morning presentations focused on their distinct creative tracks and achievements, and on sharing their invaluable experience navigating the increasingly complex realities of building successful artistic practices today. All three mentors will then lend their sharp intercrossing lenses to the participants’ work during three afternoon-long review sessions. During these, each participant will receive a full hour review with the three mentors and the group, as well as individual studio/wall/table space where to lay out in full their current project/portfolio and edit/reflect feedback in real time. In the early evening and morning time, participants will get the chance to wander along Bowen Island’s countless scenic trails, breathe in its serene natural landscape, and experience our small community’s genuine friendliness and caring spirit (Bowen is among Canada’s safest!).
Participants will leave with a renewed sense of confidence in their work and in its potential for further dissemination, strengthened ties with both talented peers and important, caring mentors, and a refined understanding of their overall position as photographers making sense of our tense, current moment.
CREATIVE IMMERSION ’04
FOTOFILMIC SPACE
BOWEN ISLAND
10.1–3, 2026
LIMITED TO 12 PARTICIPANTS
FILL THE FORM BELOW⇣
BY JUNE 14 TO SECURE YOUR SPOT!
Mimi Plumb, "Richard", 1986.
Mimi Plumb, "Treasure Island", 2020.
Mimi Plumb, "Girl in Polka Dot Dress", 1990.
"Truth Told Slant: Contemporary Photography", High Museum of Art, Atlanta, 2024. Curated by Gregory Harris.
"Blazing Lights: Photographs by Mimi Plumb", High Museum of Art, Atlanta, 2026. Curated by Gregory Harris.
"Kelli Connell: Pictures for Charis", High Museum of Art, Atlanta, 2025. Curated by Gregory Harris.
Carolyn Drake. From the book "Men Untitled" (TBW 2023)
Carolyn Drake. From the book "Men Untitled" (TBW 2023)
Carolyn Drake. From the book "Men Untitled" (TBW 2023)
MENTORS
MIMI PLUMB
Mimi Plumb is a California photographer whose work examines the landscapes, people, and shifting social realities of the American West. A 2022 Guggenheim Fellow, she is the author of six monographs, including Mimi Plumb: Blazing Light, Landfall, The White Sky, The Golden City, Megalith-Still, and The Reservoir. Her photographs are held in collections such as SFMOMA, LACMA, the High Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. The first major solo exhibition of Plumb’s work is currently on view at the High Museum of Art and will travel to three additional museums through 2027.
CAROLYN DRAKE
Carolyn Drake works on long term photo-based projects seeking to interrogate dominant historical narratives and creatively reimagine them. She is interested in collapsing the traditional divide between author and subject, the real and the imaginary, challenging entrenched binaries. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, a Fulbright fellowship in Ukraine, and the Henri Cartier Bresson Award, among other honors. Drake’s work is held in the permanent collections of SFMOMA, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, the High Museum in Atlanta, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. She is represented by Magnum Photos and Yancey Richardson Gallery and is based in Vallejo, California.
GREGORY HARRIS
Gregory Harris is the Donald and Marilyn High Museum of Art in Atlanta. He is a specialist in contemporary photography with a particular interest in documentary practice. Since joining the High in 2016, Harris has curated over a dozen exhibitions that consider an array of topics, including notions of truth in contemporary photography, the intersections of photography and self-taught art, and distinct history of photography in the American South. His recent publications include Mimi Plumb: Blazing Light (Radius Books, 2026), A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845 (Aperture, 2023), Evelyn Hofer: Eyes on the City (High Museum of Art and Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2023), and Walks to the Paradise Garden (Institute 193, 2018), and he has contributed essays to monographs by Mark Steinmetz, Amy Elkins, Matthew Brandt, and Paul D’Amato.
SCHEDULE SUMMARY
Thursday, October 1, 2026
(9:30 am – 5:00 pm)
Morning: Group session with Carolyn Drake
Afternoon: Group session with Mimi Plumb, Carolyn Drake and Gregory Harris
Friday, October 2, 2026
(9:30 am – 5:00 pm)
Morning: Group session with Mimi Plumb
Afternoon: Group session with Mimi Plumb, Carolyn Drake and Gregory Harris
Saturday, October 3, 2026
(9:30 am – 5:00 pm)
Morning: Group session with Gregory Harris
Afternoon: Group session with Mimi Plumb, Carolyn Drake and Gregory Harris
REGISTRATION FEES* & DEADLINES:
Regular: $1595 USD
[Application Deadline: Sunday, June 14, 2026]
Applications are reviewed weekly and on a first-come first-served weekly basis: applying early is therefore recommended for greater chances to participate. Applicants will receive regular email updates from submission to final decision (please allow for one week from the day your application is received).
* subject to 5% GST (Good and Services Provincial Tax)
TRAVEL
Flights, local transportation, meals and accommodations are not included in any registration fees. However a detailed Bowen Island information packet is shared with all confirmed participants to help coordinate the logistical details of their stay on Bowen Island.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applications to register are free (no fee to apply). Enrolment is limited to 12 participants. Photographers/visual artists from all education backgrounds and at all stages of their careers are encouraged to apply (film and digital both OK). Submitting a portfolio of 15-20 images focused on past and/or ongoing work is required in order to receive full consideration.
REGISTRATIONS, DEPOSITS & PAYMENT PLANS
Selected applicants invited to register are required to confirm their participation by sending a $750 USD registration deposit, or a full regular/early-bird registration payment.
If sending a registration deposit, the remaining tuition balance for accepted applicants will come due in full by Wednesday June 24, 2026.
Flexible monthly payment plans are also available to accepted applicants at their request and at no additional cost. If interested in subscribing to a registration payment plan please inquire before Friday, May 15, 2026, with FotoFilmic Co-Director Bastien Desfriches Doria at bastien@fotofilmic.com. Please also note that all payment plan payments remain non-transferable and non-refundable.
CANCELATIONS/WITHDRAWALS
The deadline for selected participants to withdraw their participation and request a refund is Sunday June 14, 2026. Please note that a $250 USD cancelation fee remains applicable. Cancelation and refund requests received after June 13 will not be accepted.
In the event the program is not meeting minimum enrolment or needs to be canceled for any other reason, paid tuition will be refunded in full without any cancelation fee. Please also note that FotoFilmic cannot be held responsible for any unrefunded traveling expenses if the workshop is not running: purchasing travel insurance is therefore highly recommended.
QUESTIONS/CONTACT
For any questions or inquiries, please contact FotoFilmic Co-Director Bastien Desfriches Doria directly at bastien@fotofilmic.com