Herbolario Migrante (Migrant Herbalism)

Migrant Herbalism is a project that examines the belief system of traditional and popular medicine—Afro-indigenous—of Latin America and how their knowledge, healing practices, and rituals have migrated with forced displacement to the United States.

Through alternative techniques of cameraless photography, visual documentation, ancient codices, oral history, community workshops, and embroidery, I document and share ritual knowledge to heal physically and spiritually, with herbs and therapies offered by traditional healers, among communities of immigrants, in response to racial and economic disparities in health care access in New York City – where most of the “undocumented” immigrants do not have health insurance.

Inspired by Anna Atkins’ photographs of algae, I create photograms: cyanotypes and lumens on fabrics embroidered with illustrations from the Cruz-Badiano Codex – the oldest book on medicinal plants in the Americas, written in Nahuatl by the Aztecs in the 16th century – and medicinal herbs, barks, and seeds that have migrated with us and are found in botanicas in New York City. Through community workshops, migrant women collaborate in this project by writing ancestral knowledge about herbalism, with which I create hand-made artisanal books challenging Western beliefs about health.

Artist Bios

Cinthya Santos Briones

Cinthya Santos Briones is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher, and educator of Nahua Indigenous heritage based in New York. Trained in Ethnohistory and Anthropology, she spent over a decade conducting research at Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), focusing on Indigenous migration, codices, textiles, and traditional medicine. Her multidisciplinary practice engages participatory art and collective storytelling, weaving nonlinear narratives through photography, archival materials, writing, ethnography, drawing, collage, embroidery, and popular education. Her work centers community voices and fosters social engagement.

Cinthya holds an MFA in Creative Writing and Photography from Ithaca College, as well as a Certificate in Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism from the International Center of Photography (ICP). She currently serves as faculty in the Studio Arts Practice MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) and as Associate Director of Outreach and Partnerships at the Mexican Studies Institute. She has also been a guest artist at Columbia University and Rutgers University.

Her work has been supported by numerous fellowships, grants, and residencies, including the Magnum Foundation, En Foco, National Geographic Research and Exploration, We Women, City Artist Corps, Wave Hill House Winter Residency, the Mellon Artist Fellowship at the Hemispheric Institute of NYU, BRICLab Contemporary Art, Talk of the Town AIR at El Museo del Barrio, NYSCA, and the Indigo Arts Alliance Mentorship Residency, among others. She was also a finalist for the CPW Saltzman Prize and Emerging Photographer of the Year, New York (2026).

Her photography and writing have appeared in publications such as The New York Times, PDN, California Sunday Magazine, Vogue, Open Society Foundations, BuzzFeed, The Intercept, The New Yorker, and The Nation. As a writer, she has contributed to both academic and journalistic outlets, including NACLA, The Nation, and La Jornada.

Cinthya has exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions at institutions including Sky Blue Gallery (Portland, OR), The Latinx Project at NYU, the International Center of Photography, El Museo del Barrio, the Museum of the City of New York, the Trout Museum (Wisconsin), the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery at Stony Brook University, and MoMA PS1. She has also presented artist talks at institutions such as Columbia University, NYU, Boston College, CUNY, SUNY New Paltz, and Dutchess Community College.

She is co-author of The Indigenous Worldview and Its Representations in Textiles of the Nahua Community of Santa Ana Tzacuala, Hidalgo and co-creator of the documentary The Huichapan Codex.

In addition to her artistic practice, Cinthya has worked as a community organizer with pro-immigrant organizations in New York, addressing issues related to detention, education, and sanctuary. She has also volunteered to accompany migrants to immigration court and asylum proceedings, and serves as a guardian for unaccompanied migrant children.

Cinthya is a member of Colectiva Infancia, a collective of anthropologists engaged in ethnographic and visual research on childhood, migration, violence, urban studies, and epistemologies of the Global South.

Organizations

Photoville

Founded in 2011 in Brooklyn, NY, Photoville was built on the principles of addressing cultural equity and inclusion, which we are always striving for, by ensuring that the artists we exhibit are diverse in gender, class, and race.

In pursuit of its mission, Photoville produces an annual, city-wide open air photography festival in New York City, a wide range of free educational community initiatives, and a nationwide program of public art exhibitions.

By activating public spaces, amplifying visual storytellers, and creating unique and highly innovative exhibition and programming environments, we join the cause of nurturing a new lens of representation.

Through creative partnerships with festivals, city agencies, and other nonprofit organizations, Photoville offers visual storytellers, educators, and students financial support, mentorship, and promotional & production resources, on a range of exhibition opportunities.

For more information about Photoville visit, www.photoville.com