Before becoming a Documentary Photographer and Photojournalist, Cinthya Santos Briones studied Anthropology and Ethnohistory, which led her to work as a researcher in different institutions in Mexico, focused on the study of indigenous and rural communities.

Her interest in documentary photography emerges through the ethnographic work  that she has done as an anthropologist in indigenous communities in  Mexico, where she documented ceremonial  and healing rituals, immigration and their transnational lives in New York. 
Since then, her work has been influenced by the struggle for human rights, focusing on issues of migration, gender, and identity. Her images explore the relationship between space, memory, time and culture.Cinthya is a recent graduate of the Visual Journalism and Documentary Practice Program at the International Center of Photography in New York City.  In the autumn of 2016 she received a fellowship granted by the Magnum Foundation and En Foco fellowship 2017. Currently she is grantee from Magnum Foundation and The National Geographic: Research and Exploration.

Cinthya has published her work in  New York Times, Pdn, La Jornada, Vogue, Open Society Foundations, Buzzfeed, The Nation Magazine, California Sunday Magazine,  Cuartoscuro, among others.
She was twice a fellow of the State Fund for Culture and the Arts of México. 

She is co-author of the book “The Indigenous Worldview and its Representations in Textiles of the Nahua community of Santa Ana Tzacuala, Hidalgo”.
Cinthya has worked in pro immigrant organizations in New York as a community organizer.


Education

 2017 - Edit, Sequence, Present And Promote Workshop, City University Of New York Graduate School Of 

 Journalism, New York, USA.

 2015 - Visual Journalism And Documentary Practice: International Center Of Photography, New York, NY, USA

 2011- Workshop Different Approaches To Document The Reality Instructor Maya Goded In The Taller Arte Luz, 

 México, D.F. 

 2011- Workshop Different Approaches To Document The Reality Instructor Maya Goded In The Taller Arte Luz,   

 México, D.F. 

 2011- Workshop “Developing Cultural Projects” Instructor Iatã Cannabrava In Gimnasio Del Arte, México,  D.F. 

 2010 - Participant In Visual Anthropology Workshop "The Politics And Rituals Of The Tlapanecos In Film" Presented  

 By Daniel Dehouve Through The National School Of Anthropology And History, México, D.F. 

 2009 - Photojournalism Workshop Taught By The Photographer Elsa Media, Hector Garcia Gallery, México, D.F. 

 2009 - Mayor In Anthropologist and  Ethnohistory  From The National School Of Anthropology And History, Mexico,     D.F

 2008 - Specialized In Transnational Indigenous Immigration Issues In The City Of New York, From The National  

 School of Anthropology And History, Mexico, D.F.

 2008 - Participant In The Workshop "Siberian Shamanism And Other Contemporary Shamanism" Given By Dr. 

 Roberte Hamoyon, INAH/UNAM/Universidad Iberoamericana, Embassy Of France In Mexico, CEMCA, México, D.F.

 2007- Course On Anthropological Photography, National Coordination Of Anthropology, INAH, México, D.F. 


Awards/Grants



 2018- Grantee of The National Geographic: Research and Exploration grant, USA.

 2018- Grantee in Photography and Collaboration: Migration and Religion by Magnum Foundation, USA.


 2018- Finalists in Women Photograph + Getty Images Grant, USA.

2018-

The Native and Everyday Projects Mentorship Program, USA.

 2017 - Visura Scholarship For Career Development

 2017 - New York Times Portfolio Review

 2017 - En Foco Fellowship

 2016 - Magnum Foundation Fellowship

 2014 - Second Place In The Competition Festival International Of The Image In The Category Documentary 

 Photographer For Her Series “Comerciantes De Ilusiones”, México.

 2012 - Second Place In The Competition Festival International Of The Image In The Category Documentary 

 Photographer For Her Series “Subway”, México.

 2011 - Third Place Recognition In "Cultural Diversity" Photo Competition Of The National Movement For Cultural 

 Diversity Of Mexico, CDI, CELCI, UAEH, Universidad La Salle, México. 

 2010 - Awarded A Grant From The State Fund For Culture And Arts Of The State Of Hidalgo To Complete The Book 

 Series The Indigenous Worldview And Its Representations In The Nahua Acaxochitlán Textiles, Pachuca, Hidalgo, 

 México.

 2008 - Third Place In The National Photography Competition "El Sazón Mexicano" By The Photo Series "Food    

 Ritual" By The Magazine Cuartoscuro, México, D.F.

2007 - Second Place In The National Photography Competition Category Human Rights In Photographic   History With A Book Entitled “The Broken Toy”, Awarded By The Ministry Of Interior, Foreign Secretary, National Commission On Human Rights, Youth Institute, Polytechnic Institutional, United Nations Commission For Human Rights Regional Office For Latin America And The Caribbean, México, D.F. 

 2009 - Fellow Of The State Fund For Culture And The Arts Of The State Of Hidalgo, In The Category Of Cultural  Heritage Outreach Project: Indigenous Textiles And Their Worldview, Hidalgo, México. 

 2007 - Fellow Of The State Fund For Culture And The Arts Of The State Of Hidalgo, In The Category Of Cultural 

Heritage Outreach Project: The Codex Huichapan, Hidalgo, México.

2007 - Second Place In The Photographic Competition "Laocoon And His Sons" Awarded By The Museo Soumaya, 

Mexico, D.F.

2005-2008 Scholarship “Telmex” Per Academic Excellence Awarded By Telmex Foundation, México, D.F. 


Publications on Photography

2018- Photos on Debora Barrios-Vasquez Took Sanctuary in a Church Because ICE Separates Families Every Day, in 

The Intercept, June 23 2018, USA.

2018-

Photos on ‘A Border Control Official Sexually Abused Me’ in the Nation Magazine, New York, USA, 

April 2.


2018- Photos on ”The Walls of this Church Are the Only Thing Standing Between Amanda Morales and Deportation”, 

in the Nation Magazine, New York, USA, January 30.

2018- Photos on ”Seeing an Opening to Leave Her Husband, She Took It and Didn’t Look Back” The Neediest Cases 

Fund, New York Times, Region, New York, USA, January 2.

2017- Photos on “Sticking to the J Train, but Learning to Reroute Dark Thoughts” The Neediest Cases Fund, New York 

Times, Region, New York, USA, Nov. 1.

2017- Photos on “On Her Own, Raising Twin ‘Princesses’ With Special Needs” The Neediest Cases Fund, New York 

Times, Region, New York, USA, Nov.  22.

2017- “Abuelas: Portraits of Invisible Grandmothers”, Nueva Luz Magazine, USA.

2017- “Invisible Grandmothers”, Open Society Foundation, Instagram Takeover, USA.

2017 - "Quinceañeras", Buzzfeed, USA.

2017 - Grandmothers Making a Place for Themselves Beyond the Border, Buzzfeed, USA.

2017 - Abuelas In Lens Blog, New York Times, USA.

2017 - New York Edited Identity By Ostreuzschule Für Fotografie In Berlin, Germany.

2017 - Dummy "USA"  #52, Berlin Germany

2016 - Shift Vol 11 International Center Of Photography, New York

2016 - Invisible Matriarchs: Cinthya Santos Briones’ “Abuelas” Series On Pdn Online, USA.


Job Experience

2017- Teaching at New Voices School, New York, USA.

2017 -Teaching at Proof: Media for Social Justice "Photography and Human Rights", New York, USA.

2017 -Teaching At Lyons Community School, New York, USA.

2017 - Teaching Assistant For Adriana Adriana Zehbrauskas, Documentary Seminar, International Center Of Photography, New York, USA.

2017 - Teaching Assistant For Andrew Lichtenstein, Documentary Seminar, International Center Of Photography, New York, USA.

2017 - Teaching Assistant For Frank Franca, "Light And Shadows", International Center Of Photography, New York, USA.

2017 - Inter At PROOF: Media For Social Justice, USA.

2017 - Inter At Magnum Foundation, USA.

2014 - Photo Editor In The Magazine NACLA -North American Congress On Latin America, New York City, Unite States.

2014 - Community Organizer In The Tribunal Permanent Of The People: “Migration” Between Mexico And New York, Unite States.

2013 - Researcher At HBO In The Documentary Series “Heroes Cotidianos” New York City.

2005/2011 - Researcher In A National Project Of Ethnography Of The Indigenous Regions In The New Millennium, National Institute Of Anthropology And History (INAH), In The North Huasteca Regional Team Of México, D.F.

2011 - Researcher On The Project "National Program Of Basic Education For Children Of Migrant Laborer Families (PRONIM) In The State Of Guanajuato, Secretaria De Educación Pública, México.

In February And March Of 2011 Worked As An Assistant Of Museography At The "People's Art Exhibition Hidalgo: Rituals, Customs And Creations" Organized By The State Council For Culture And Arts Of The State Of Hidalgo, México. 

2009-2010 Researcher On The Project "A Regional Demographic Diagnosis Of The Migrant Population Of The State Of Guanajuato", SEP, México. 

2007 - Research On The Project Of Cultural Processes Derived From Migration In The National Commission For The Development Of Indigenous Peoples (CDI), Mexico, D.F. 


Solo Exhibitions

2018- “Abuelas: Portraits of the Invisible Grandmothers”, Sky Blue Gallery, Portland Oregon, USA.

2017- “Abuelas: Portraits of the Invisible Grandmothers” at Advent Church, New York, USA.


Selected Exhibitions

2018 - “Abuelas: Portraits of the Invisible Grandmothers”,  LUMIX Festival, Germany.

2018 - “Abuelas: Portraits of the Invisible Grandmothers” at International Photo Festival in Leiden in Holland, 2018.

2017 - EmergiCubes, Photoville, New York, USA.

2017 - Dreaming Up North: Children on the Move Across the Americas, Museo del Barrio, New York, USA.

2017 - Immediate Surroundings: The 2017 En Foco Photography Fellowship, New York, USA.

2016 - Mextasis Studio, Brooklyn New York, USA.

2016 - "Haven" For Another Kind Of Paradise, International Center Of Photography, New York, NY


Artists Lectures

2018 - “Abuelas: Portraits of the Invisible Grandmothers”, Sky Blue Gallery, Portland Oregon, USA.

2018 - 

“Living Inside Sanctuary” at New School, New York, USA.


2018- 

“Living Inside Sanctuary” at United Photo Industries, New York, USA.

2018- “Living Inside Sanctuary”at Bronx Documentary Center,  New York, USA.

2017- “Abuelas” at Bronx Documentary Center,  New York, USA.

2017- “Abuelas: Portraits of the Invisible Grandmothers” at Advent Church, New York, USA.

2017  - Dreaming Up North: Children on the Move Across the Americas, Museo del Barrio, New York, USA.

2017 - Fighting Back On Both Sides Of The Mexico-U.S. Border, Left Forum, New York, USA.

2016 - Baxter Camara Club Of New York, USA.

2016 - Mextasis Studio, Brooklyn New York, USA.


Clients

New York Times, The Intercept, The Nation Magazine, Pdn Online, Buzzfeed, Open Society Foundations,  Vogue, Open Society Foundations, Haaretz, La Jornada, NACLA, PROOF: Media For Social Justice, Vision Project, Delayed Gratification Magazine, Democracy Now, etc.


Cinthya is available for assignments worldwide.

E-mail: cinthyas.briones@gmail.com

Phone: 347 549 65552


Languages: Spanish and English