Miranda Mote, an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania's PhD program in Architecture, has developed an approach to writing history and making art through teaching and her non-profit, Botanography. She was awarded the prestigious 2023-24 Garden Club of America / Prince Charitable Trusts Rome Prize in Landscape Architecture from the American Academy in Rome, a testament to her multifaceted expertise in history of landscape, art, and architecture.
Mote's winning project, "Botanography and Botanical Gardens: The Italian Art of Nature Printing and Its Influence on Early American Gardens and Botanical Language," will document the culture of nature printing at renowned botanical gardens in Italy, pivotal sources for Western nature printing while at the same time developing a K-12 curriculum to teach ecology, botany, and language through botanical image making in primary and secondary schools.
Mote will analyze Italian nature prints and nature printing methods, unveiling their beauty for future writing and her own botanical print work. Furthermore, she will be teaching children from the American Academy in Rome and local Italian schools, embarking on an educational journey that seamlessly blends art, literacy, and botany, all revolving around the botanical image making as a means of writing stories about landscapes and places.
Mote's vision extends beyond her research and academics. She firmly believes that garden classrooms integrated into educational environments are essential in urban communities. Her dedication to fostering equitable urban landscapes through education stands as a testament to her passion for forging meaningful connections between people and nature.
She is currently residing as a fellow at the American Academy in Rome from September 2023 to July 2024. Her journey epitomizes the profound influence of history and art on our understanding of the world, serving as an inspiration to budding scholars and artists across the globe.
Learn more about the 2023 Rome Prize Fellowship Winners and Jurors.