Provincetown Community Compact

Nurturing Community

Dune Shacks

Applications for 2024 are open until January 15, 2024. Please scroll down for application links.

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The historic dune 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.

Community residencies are open to all and are selected by lottery. The Compact funds, or partially subsidizes, residencies for three visual artists who are selected by jury and for two writers who are selected by lottery.

In 2019 The Provincetown Community Compact designated one of the three Dune Shack Artist Residencies for an emerging artist of color, named for the late David Bethuel Jamieson, an African-American artist who died of AIDS in 1992. The top recipient of the Dune Shack Artists residency and The David Bethuel Jamieson Residency include three funded weeks in the C-Scape Dune Shack and a $500 fellowship.

In keeping with our mission, The Compact provides fully funded weeks for clients of the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, Helping Our Women, the Provincetown Schools, and Native Americans. These time slots are funded by the annual Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla – a benefit for AIDS, women’s health & the community.

The Compact has initiated a voluntary Honor Tax for dune shack residents. This is an opportunity to move beyond land acknowledgement and offer financial support for the use of unceded Native American land.
Please see the donate button at checkout.

In addition to the artists and writers selected by The Compact, we partially subsidize two weeks for writing fellows of the Fine Arts Work Center and other organizations on the Cape to provide residencies in the shacks under our care.

Rental Fees:
Fowler: $500/wk
C-Scape: $400/wk

Rental fees are due on notification and are refundable up to a month before occupancy.
There is a $15 non-refundable application fee.

Fowler Dune Shack

The core of the Fowler Cottage, as built by Stan and Laura Fowler c. 1949, is a 1-story, 3-room, side-gable frame structure supported by wood piers. A gabled bedroom addition was constructed during the 1950s. There is a functioning wood stove and a small addition with a composting toilet that was added in the 1980s..

C-Scape Dune Shack

The C-Scape shack is a 1 1/2 story, three room structure that includes a studio and wood stove. It has a propane cooking stove, a small refrigerator, and an outhouse with a composting toilet.

Apply for Residency at an historic Dune Shack

Community Residencies

The Dune Shacks are an important part of Provincetown and woven into the fabric of the community. Community Residencies are open to all and are selected through a lottery system. You may select up to three weeks in each shack.

A $35 donation to the Friends of the C-Scape Dune Shack provides entry into an additional lottery for three weeks set aside for Friends at a reduced rate.
Friends will also receive first notice of last minute cancellations.

Application:  Apply Here

Native American Residencies

We are pleased to offer a week for a Native American, collaborating with the Native Land Conservancy.

Application:  Apply Here

Artist Residencies

To apply for the juried, visual artist three, 3-week residencies you will need:
• A résumé
• Artist statement
• Up to five images

Application:  Apply Here

Writer Residencies

Writers may apply for one of two one-week residencies funded by The Compact. In order to allow writers of all levels equal opportunity, we have created a unique, non-juried process. Applicants will be selected by lottery.

To complete an application, you will need to upload:
• 1-2 page artist statement or resume
• 3-5 pages of your writing for our records

These are for our records only and do not affect the applicants chances in the lottery.

Application:  Apply Here

Dune Shack Spirit

For those who wish to support the organization and help ensure the affordability of the program for all, a fee of $1,500 will reserve a limited number of one-week residencies ($1,000 of which is tax-deductible). Please contact us for details..