The Humanities Institute of the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) announced that writer and photographer Benjamin Swett has been chosen as the recipient of the 2024 Larry Lederman Photography Fellowship. Between April 1 and Dec. 31, Swett will work at NYBG in the Bronx to produce a 20-photograph portfolio. Swett’s publications include the award-winning book New York City of Trees (2013) and Route 22 (2007).
The Humanities Institute also announced that Ngoc Minh Ngo, the 2023 recipient of the Larry Lederman Photography Fellowship, submitted her final portfolio, which was accessioned on March 5, 2024 by NYBG’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library, where it will be catalogued and made available to all library patrons. The portfolio, made of 20 black-and-white and color photographs of the New York Botanical Garden, was received by the director of the LuEsther T. Mertz, Rhonda Evans; the Humanities Institute director Lucas Mertehikian; vice president for horticulture, Todd Forrest; and Senior Director of Bronx Green-Up Ursula Chanse. Photographer John Maggiotto, member of the selection committee, was also present.
The Larry Lederman Photography Fellowship is awarded annually to an outstanding established or emerging photographer whose work focuses on gardens or landscapes and demonstrates excellence and a creative approach to the art of landscape photography. The selected fellow receives a $20,000 grant dispersed in installments for a nine-month term, March 1 through Nov. 30, during which time the fellow will have complimentary access to NYBG’s 250-acre landscape and collections.
During the nine-month term, Benjamin Swett, as the 2024 Fellow, will create a portfolio of photographs that captures the aesthetic character, seasonality and ephemeral quality of the New York Botanical Garden and/or community gardens in its Bronx Green-Up program, parks, natural areas and urban landscapes throughout the Bronx environs. At least 20 percent of the work should include photos taken onsite at NYBG, a 250-acre National Historic Landmark site or its affiliated community gardens. A portfolio of at least 20 prints from the submitted body of work will be delivered to NYBG’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library at the end of the term.
For more information about the Larry Lederman Photography Fellowship, please email the NYBG Humanities Institute at humanities@nybg.org. To read more about the Fellowship, please visit https://www.nybg.org/learn/humanities-institute/research-opportunities/the- larry-lederman-photography-fellowship.
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