Julian Cintrón
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Julian Cintrón, a junior at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, is a student leader actively engaged in our campus and neighborhood communities. For the past three years, Julian has contributed immensely to MassArt's Center for Art and Community Partnerships (CACP), playing a lead role in CACP's Community Exhibitions Initiative, and supporting sparc! the ArtMobile programming. Most recently Julian has been working in partnership with youth from Sociedad Latina, a youth and family serving organization in Mission Hill. Through photography, animation, and film production, Julian works with youth to support them in composing life's images, in framing situations around them and documenting experiences in their lives. Active in conversations involving issues of social justice, intercultural communication, and partnership building, Julian represents CACP in the Student Government Association, where he leads by example. Raised in a family of activists, Julian deeply values mentorship, and activates his passion, skills, and development as an artist, educator, activist, and leader to promote conversations and actions related to issues of equity, diversity, and access to the arts.
Personal Statement
My aspirations as a community leader stem from the family of activists in which I was raised, and continue to manifest through my involvement in MassArt's Center for Art and Community Partnerships (CACP). CACP's mission is to cultivate innovative and sustainable relationships with the community beyond the Mass Art campus, and to broaden the relevance of art and design in public life. My primary work with the Community Exhibitions Initiative involves the curation and installation of local artists' work in public partnerships throughout the Roxbury and Mission Hill areas. I have also worked with sparc! the ArtMobile to further engage with the community in collaborative, intergenerational settings such as "Paint Jazz" and kite making at the Franklin Park Kite Festival. My most recent work is in partnership with Sociedad Latina, creating an ongoing weekly animation workshop for youth as an extension of their video production program. As an artist I inherently feel the need to pass on lessons I am continually learning to not only further my own understandings, but to make sure they are absorbed by younger generations that will further develop them. I feel this to be one of the primary vehicles of my civic engagement.
