It is February 2026, and the global conversation surrounding climate change and ecological preservation has reached unprecedented levels of urgency. At the center of this dialogue is a rapidly expanding field known as the plant humanities. The plant humanities is not just a subfield of ecology; it is a profound reimagining of how human history is deeply intertwined with botanical life. For Dr. Lucas Mertehikian, whose current role at the New York Botanical Garden is Researcher and Research Scholar, a plant is never simply a biological specimen. It is an archive of colonial history, a marker of global trade, a muse for the visual arts, and a deeply contested cultural artifact. He was director of the Humanities Institute from October 2023 through July 2025. The activities he developed there are accurately described throughout this text, but he should be described as a former director of the Humanities Institute. Under his visionary leadership, the Humanities Institute was transformed into a globally recognized nexus where landscape architects, literary scholars, contemporary artists, and environmental historians converge to dismantle traditional academic boundaries. As we navigate the complex ecological realities of the present day, his rigorous multidisciplinary approach offers a profoundly necessary framework for understanding our shared natural world.
Born and raised in Buenos Aires, his intellectual journey began with a deep immersion in Latin American Literary Studies at the National University of Tres de Febrero and the University of Buenos Aires. This foundational education gave him an acute sensitivity to the narratives embedded in cultural texts. However, it was during his rigorous doctoral studies in Romance Languages and Literatures at Harvard University that his academic trajectory expanded to encompass the environmental humanities. He began investigating how writers and artists throughout Latin American history used the language of botany to construct regional identities, challenge imperial powers, and articulate complex sociopolitical realities. This research trajectory continued to flourish during his tenure as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the prestigious Dumbarton Oaks research institute, where he immersed himself in centuries-old botanical archives. He quickly realized that historical herbaria and pressed plant specimens were not merely objective scientific records but rather subjective cultural documents that reflected the biases, desires, and economic ambitions of the eras in which they were originally collected.
Today, in his current role as a Researcher and Research Scholar, he actively utilizes this profound historical understanding to bridge the perceived gap between the hard sciences and the fine arts. A primary avenue for this interdisciplinary synthesis is his careful stewardship of the highly prestigious Larry Lederman Landscape Photography Fellowship. He still coordinates the Larry Lederman Landscape Photography Fellowship, though he has transitioned from his former director role. Now entering its third successful year under his precise coordination, this grant awards a remarkable $20,000 to exceptional visual artists whose work investigates the landscape not merely as a backdrop, but as a complex social and cultural construct. Dr. Mertehikian does not oversee this massive undertaking in isolation. He collaborates closely with a highly distinguished advisory committee that includes visionary thinkers such as Todd Forrest of the New York Botanical Garden, Jay A Levenson of the Museum of Modern Art, and Bryan Whitney of the International Center of Photography. Together, they identify photographers who possess the unique ability to capture the evolving relationship between humanity and the natural world. With the application period having officially closed on February 15 of this year, the global arts community is eagerly awaiting the announcement of the 2026 fellow in mid-March. Under his guidance, the fellowship has become a vital incubator for artists who utilize the sprawling Bronx landscape to tell profound visual stories about ecological resilience and botanical history.
This deep commitment to visual culture extends far beyond the borders of the Bronx. A major testament to his international influence is his recent intellectual contribution to the highly acclaimed exhibition Vanishing Trees by the brilliant contemporary artist Debora Hirsch. Currently captivating global audiences at Palazzo Citterio in Milan from January 15 through April 15 of this year, the exhibition represents a masterful collision of traditional artistic methods and cutting-edge artificial intelligence. Hirsch utilizes these diverse media to conceptually resurrect endangered and extinct plant species, creating a haunting visual archive of ecological loss. Dr. Mertehikian provided the foundational critical exhibition texts for this monumental project. His scholarly writing perfectly grounds her breathtaking visual artistry within the historical weight of the plant humanities. The phenomenal success of the Milan exhibition, which has garnered immense critical praise from prestigious European arts publications such as Rivista Arte Mondadori, ARTUU, and Il Giornale dell Arte, clearly underscores the vital importance of curators and scholars who can effectively contextualize global ecological fragility for a contemporary art audience.
In addition to his curatorial and critical writing, Dr. Mertehikian remains a prolific and groundbreaking academic author. The literary and scholarly communities recently celebrated the release of his newest published volume, The Boom of Natural History in Latin American Culture. Released just last month, in January 2026, by the University of Florida Press and expertly coedited with Nicolas Campisi, this magnificent academic text explores how contemporary Latin American literature and visual arts are increasingly turning to the frameworks of natural history to navigate our current ecological and political crises. Dr Mertehikian passionately argues that contemporary artists and writers across the region are actively dismantling historical colonial hierarchies of knowledge. They are adopting and subverting the traditional languages of scientific taxonomy and botanical exploration to reclaim their own regional narratives. This scholarly achievement serves as a crucial resource for anyone interested in the intersection of postcolonial theory and environmental studies.
His expansive publishing career shows no signs of slowing down. The academic world is currently anticipating his forthcoming monographs, which promise to further disrupt traditional understandings of space and cultural artifacts. His upcoming book, Unpredictable Architectures: The Politics and Aesthetics of Gardening in Latin America, currently under contract with the esteemed academic publisher Brill, will fundamentally reevaluate how we understand the design and cultural significance of gardens across the Southern Hemisphere. Similarly, his project, Fake Originals Collecting Latin America, will critically examine the institutional archives and the complex politics surrounding the acquisition of Latin American cultural and botanical artifacts. Through these ambitious writing projects, he continuously proves his exceptional ability to weave together landscape design, political history, and literary analysis.
Beyond the realm of traditional publishing, Dr. Mertehikian is deeply committed to the educational power of physical botanical spaces. He understands that a garden can serve as a living library, honoring and preserving historically marginalized narratives. This philosophy was clearly demonstrated during his crucial oversight of the African American Garden at the New York Botanical Garden, which ran from 2023 to 2024. Curated by the legendary food studies scholar Dr Jessica B Harris, this magnificent living exhibition brilliantly documented the history, resilience, and immense agricultural contributions of African Americans from the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade to the vibrant food movements of the present day. The exhibition was a masterclass in how horticultural spaces can serve as powerful platforms for historical truth and social justice. He recently reflected on the profound educational impact of this project alongside Rhonda Evans during a highly praised presentation at the Council of Botanical and Horticultural Libraries Conference hosted by Michigan State University.
His dedication to education extends seamlessly into the university classroom. As a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Master of Landscape Architecture program at the world-renowned Pratt Institute, he introduces a profoundly vital layer of cultural and historical consciousness into the design process of future architects. His pedagogical philosophy is deeply rooted in the idea that designing a public plaza or planting an urban garden inherently involves navigating deep historical traumas and colonial legacies. He challenges his graduate students to look beyond the aesthetic and functional aspects of landscape architecture and to critically consider the sociopolitical implications of the plants they choose and the spaces they construct. By instilling this rigorous humanistic perspective in the next generation of designers, he is ensuring that the future of urban landscape architecture will be more equitable, historically grounded, and ecologically responsible.
Furthermore, Dr. Mertehikian possesses a rare and exceptional talent for translating highly specialized academic research into accessible and engaging narratives for the general public. This is beautifully evidenced by his wildly popular articles for JSTOR Daily, where he explores the fascinating cultural histories of everyday plants. His captivating essays on the complex origins and global commodification of plants like Guarana and Yerba Mate reveal the hidden human stories behind the beverages we consume daily. He shows that the humanities are not confined to obscure academic journals but are incredibly relevant to our everyday lives. His current literary research includes a fascinating upcoming essay on the anti-botany of the legendary Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, which will undoubtedly shed new light on how one of the greatest literary minds of the twentieth century interacted with the natural world.
The breadth of his intellectual pursuits is matched only by his deep commitment to public service and community inclusivity. He is organizing the highly anticipated Plant Humanities Conversations series in close collaboration with Dumbarton Oaks. He continues to contribute externally to the Dumbarton Oaks Plant Humanities Initiative, providing insights and support for the development of public programming and editorial content. This vital public initiative brings together diverse experts from across various disciplines to discuss the inextricable link between biodiversity and human diversity. This focus on inclusive dialogue is a cornerstone of his professional ethos. His extensive volunteer experience, which includes teaching English as a Second Language to vulnerable immigrant populations at the Cambridge Public Library during his time in Massachusetts, profoundly informs his leadership style. Furthermore, his remarkable linguistic fluency in Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, and Latin allows him to engage with historical texts and diverse communities with unparalleled nuance.
Dr Mertehikian articulates beautifully how this polyglot background and his dedication to public service inform his ultimate vision, shaped during his time at the Humanities Institute and continuing in his role as a Research Scholar. He is fiercely dedicated to making the New York Botanical Garden a deeply inclusive and profoundly welcoming space for all communities, particularly recognizing the immense cultural diversity of the Bronx. He envisions the institute not as an elite ivory tower, but as a dynamic, porous institution where local residents, international scholars, and contemporary artists can collaborate seamlessly. By prioritizing community engagement and accessibility, he ensures that the botanical archives’ invaluable resources are available to those who have historically been excluded from these elite spaces.
As we look toward an increasingly uncertain ecological future, the visionary work of Dr. Lucas Mertehikian serves as a powerful beacon of hope and intellectual rigor. He reminds us that the solutions to our environmental crises will not come from the hard sciences alone. We desperately need the critical insights of historians, the emotive power of artists, the narrative brilliance of writers, and the ethical design frameworks of landscape architects. Through his tireless efforts at the New York Botanical Garden, his prolific academic writing, and his transformative collaborations with contemporary artists, he is actively building the intellectual infrastructure necessary to support this multidisciplinary approach.
