Supported by The Mellon Foundation, NYBG’s Humanities Institute was a center for innovative thinking at the place where science and the humanities meet—with a spotlight on the growing field of Food Humanities. Our lively community of fellows and visiting scholars explored the Garden’s historic collections in the Mertz Library and the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium, furthering interdisciplinary research projects that spanned issues in foodways, justice, and more, with a special focus on the Bronx. With a rich annual offering of lecture series, workshops, and symposia on these subjects, the Humanities Institute dug deeper into the connections between art, history, botany, and culture.
The African American Garden at NYBG’s Edible Academy explored and celebrated Black culture through the lens of plants. It was a three-year project curated by Dr. Jessica B. Harris, NYBG Trustee, author, historian, and America’s leading expert on African foodways.
Launched in 2021, the Bronx Foodways Oral Histories Project preserved the food histories and life experiences of long-time community gardeners and urban farmers across the borough, providing intimate first-hand portraits of growers, volunteers, and activists—and keeping their personal journeys alive for future generations.
Content from this series has been retained in physical form in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library’s collection and is available to members of the public by request.
Revisit past lectures, panels, and workshops hosted by the Humanities Institute of the New York Botanical Garden.
The Humanities Institute welcomed many visiting scholars as fellows and interns throughout the course of the program, comprising a wide variety of expertise among both local, national, and international academics.