Ben Altman trained as an artist by studying Physics, towing icebergs, racing sailboats, and working as a commercial photographer. After moving to the United States from his native England in the early 1980’s he spent twenty-five years in Chicago; he now lives near Ithaca, NY.
Altman has shown work recently in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Syracuse, NY, Asheville, NC, and Fort Wayne, IN. He was awarded the Houston Center for Photography’s 2015 Fellowship, was a 2014 Critical Mass finalist and runner-up in Soho Photo Gallery’s 2014 National Photography Competition. His project The More That Is Taken Away is fiscally sponsored by Artspire, a program of the New York Foundation for the Arts, and received a Film Finishing Funds grant from the NY State Council on the Arts. In 2014 his Talk Tompkins was awarded an Artist in Community grant from NYSCA. With 2x2 Collective Ben was a resident in 2012 at Sculpture Space, Utica, NY. In addition to photography Ben works with video, sound, installation, assemblage, and participation. He is an alumnus of NYFA’s MARK professional development program.