SNAP! Photography Capstone Presentation
Aetna Theater
Wadsworth Atheneum
Hartford
Aug. 1, 2026
The end of summer is rapidly approaching, which means for one particular group of people, school is right around the corner.
But before students in the Amistad Center’s SNAP! Photography program turn their thoughts to homeroom and homework, they gathered in the Aetna Theater at the Wadsworth Atheneum to share their artistic work with their family and friends.
The SNAP! Photography program is a four-week paid artist residency, open to high school students in the Greater Hartford area. Students learn about photography, and how to integrate video storytelling, graphic design, and curatorial practice into their work. The photographs will be displayed as part of the 2027 Juneteenth celebrations in the Atheneum’s Avery gallery.
The program was taught by Joel Cintron, a talented artist based in Hartford. Joel and I have gotten to know each other over the last few years as we’ve bumped into each other at various events. The quality of his work speaks for itself. The students are lucky to have him as their mentor.
Speaking of the students, I was surprised by how many of them said that they were fairly new to photography when they began the residency. Unfortunately, by high school, many students are already being sorted into their allotted roles in life instead of being exposed to new ideas and possibilities, so I was heartened that the program is helping to make new artists.
The fact that the residency is paid is a crucial element. Joel isn’t just teaching the kids how to take pretty pictures. He’s showing them how to be professional artists, showing that it is possible to make money through the arts. It’s funny, my father sent me a video last week with some guy bloviating about the need for young people to study “lucrative” (read: math, science and computers) fields in college. Joel’s counterprogramming about the viability of the arts is much needed.
The students took to it. Josiah Rawlins, a senior at Hall High School, described how he learned to “zone in” while he was walking around downtown Hartford with the rest of the cohort, taking in the sights he was seeing to focus on taking good pictures.
“A camera's more than just a tool for taking pictures. It can preserve history, and it can tell stories depending on the way you take the picture,” he said.
Brookline Chaney, a junior at Classical Magnet School, talked about how learning to take pictures has helped her move beyond her comfort zone.
“Finding the best shot really just helps you get out of your comfort zone,” she said. “If it pleases your eyes, get on one knee, get on both.”
I often joke about how awful of a photographer I am, but a program like this would have been right up my alley when I was a youngster many moons ago. It’s wonderful that the teens of Greater Hartford have an opportunity to become paid artists at such an early point in their careers, and that they had the opportunity to learn from one of the best photographers in the city.
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