Contact Sheet 234: 2026 Grants in Photography

Contact Sheet 234: 2026 Grants in Photography
Publisher: Light Work (2026)

It is with great pleasure that we present the Annual Light Work Grants in Photography Contact Sheet. For its fifty-first year, Light Work has expanded the region to include all of New York state, with the exception of New York City. The five grant recipients are: Maureen Beitler (Columbia), Hernease Davis (Monroe), Ian Sherlock Molloy (Onondaga), Amrita Stützle (Onondaga), and Patty Tomanovich (Monroe). These photographers reflect the strength and vitality of our talented regional community. They explore the full range of what it means to be an image-maker today.

While all five grant recipients share certain themes and practices, they remain very distinct in their respective uses of the expanded visual language of contemporary photography. Among the subjects explored are labor (both in the home and in the workforce), the body’s relationship to an interior self, the urban landscape, and the natural world. Beitler, Molloy, and Stützle use current technologies of digital capture and inkjet printing; Davis and Tomanovich create unique prints via alternative processes.

Extending Light Work’s Grant program from three recipients and seventeen counties to five winners from fifty-seven counties better reflects the program’s core mission, which is to give immediate support to underrepresented and emerging artists. By expanding our geographical radius and increasing the number of awards, Light Work is more fully able to showcase the statewide talent and dedication of artists working today.