“The View from Here: Accessing Art Through Photography” amplifies the voices, perspectives, and creative agency of New Haven youth through sustained work with photography and the collections of the Yale Center for British Art. The program fosters connections with the Yale School of Art through close collaboration with a current MFA student.
This year’s exhibition, Finding Our Paths, features the work of nine student photographers. Inspired by “desire paths,” the informal routes formed when people move through spaces on their own terms, students chart visual pathways through their daily lives, histories, and communities. During fall 2025 and winter 2026, they developed technical skills and the practice of looking with intention to express their unique perspectives.
Their images capture moments of observation, connection, and self-reflection, revealing how young artists navigate and reimagine the worlds they inhabit. Grounded in optimism, they use photography to seek light, possibility, and new meanings.
The View from Here 2026: Finding Our Paths is presented across Yale’s campus. In addition to this online presentation, the students’ work is on view in the museum’s High Street windows beginning April 2026. A complementary installation is at Yale Schwarzman Center from April 6 to December 18, 2026.
Artists
Click on a portrait to view the program participant’s work and statement.
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Credits
This year’s program participants are (left to right) Danna Cabrera, Jalyana Cuevas, Roberto Luis Florentino, Keirianna Jones, Sham Mahaini, Odeno Makomenaw, Valeria Fierro Mendoza, Zulma Chilel Romero, and Jenna Singh.
“The View from Here: Accessing Art Through Photography” was organized and taught by Inkpa Mani Lara-Ruiz, MFA 2025, Teaching Artist, Yale School of Art.
Top image
Collage of The View from Here participants’ photos, 2026
