We believe that photography is vital to understanding our shared environment and is a powerful tool for illuminating the city’s complex public realm.
Since 2001, the Photo Urbanism program has fostered the creation of new work exploring and documenting the culture of NYC’s public spaces across the five boroughs. Organized around a central theme each year, the Photo Urbanism fellow receives $10,000 in funding and support to create a solo exhibition, as well as collaborates with our Youth Photography Workshop at the Macaulay Honors College.
The 2026-2027 cycle explores public spaces as lively venues for arts and culture, in tandem with our “Untaped” initiative aiming to make it easier for New Yorkers to use their neighborhood commons. We want to document how public spaces come to life with creative programming, markets, live performances, art exhibitions, educational opportunities, and beyond. These stories will advance Untaped’s mission to reimagine NYC with less bureaucratic red-tape and simpler permitting processes.
The 2026-2027 fellowship was awarded to Manuela Hurtado, who will begin her work in October 2026 and present a final exhibition in June of 2027.
Explore past Photo Urbanism exhibitions at photourbanism.org