MassArt at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown (MFAWC) provides a unique opportunity for a select group of artists seeking the optimum low-residency program. This program's emphasis is on studio production; on structuring interactions and environments where artists can create their work and receive critical feedback. While in Provincetown, students meet and engage with leading artists and art world professionals. MFAWC's location in Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod has inspired artists for generations, and the Work Center's studios and facilities have housed artists for over thirty years. A central part of the program's attraction is the close proximity of the Work Center to a remarkable landscape and its remove from the distractions of everyday life.

MFAWC seeks self-directed artists who want to capitalize upon their past achievements and receive in-depth feedback. The intensive 3 ½ week residency sessions are complemented by off-site periods where participants work under the supervision of approved mentors. The intensity of the residency sessions and off-site periods require a high degree of discipline and commitment to one's work. While in Provincetown, students are expected to work seven days a week in order to maximize their productivity and to benefit fully from their interactions with other artists.

In today's art world, where the line is often blurred between two dimensional practice and other fields, it is common to see artists who are nominally painters creating installations and/or using a wide array of materials. It is this program's expectation that a similar range of practice will be pursued, that artists may draw, paint, print, make photographs, create installations, and work with assorted materials both in and outside their studios. Our intent is to support traditional and non-traditional two-dimensional practice and to provide artists with the opportunity to develop their work without constraints. While a range of investigations is encouraged, this program does not have the facilities necessary for heavy fabrication.

Founded in 1873, MassArt has been offering a Master of Fine Arts degree for thirty years. In Boston, its state-of-the-art, city-block facility is located beside the Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts.

The MFAWC Program, MassArt's only off-site degree program, focuses on two-dimensional and related practice.The program is now in it's fifth year and three classes have completed their degree requirements. Thesis exhibits are mounted at the Fine Arts Work Center and at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. Students completing the program receive an MFA degree from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

The Fine Arts Work Center was founded in 1968 by concerned artists, writers and patrons, including Stanley Kunitz, Alan Dugan, Robert Motherwell and Hudson Walker. Their desire was to support younger artists and writers in the early "emerging" stage of their careers, by providing seven months of uninterrupted time to live and work in Provincetown. Participants in the MFA Program have access to a wealth of FAWC resources including large airy studios, printmaking facilities, darkroom, gallery, computer lab and lecture hall.

The MassArt/FAWC residencies are in May and September, the months some say are the best in Provincetown. Without the large crowds, the hectic pace of summer slows and the town offers all of its services to make a residency productive. Provincetown is easily accessible by car or boat, bus or plane. All classes and studios are at FAWC. Student housing is available in local guest houses and inns.