I'm pleased to share that one of the portraits from my project Mental Mapping: The Art of Exploring Connections has been selected for inclusion in the 66th Communication Arts Photography Annual, which will be published in the July/August 2025 issue.

I'm honored to share that one of the portraits from Mental Mapping: The Art of Exploring Connections has been Chosen for inclusion in the American Photography 41 online Archive, curated by AI-AP. The image was one of just 460 selected from over 7,000 submissions to receive jury recognition and will appear in The ARCHIVE.

Spark, With Nora Young, by CBC Radio explores how neuroscience and technology intersect to enhance our understanding of memory. Joshua Sariñana explains how memory engrams—networks of neurons encoding experiences—can be visualized and artificially activated using advanced techniques like optogenetics.

This Roundtable discussion explores the intersections of neuroscience, art, artificial intelligence, and memory through a collaborative discussion featuring a choreographer, designer/artist, an environment and community organizer, and neuroscientists. The conversation highlights Joshua Sariñana's Mental Mapping project, which visualizes the connections between our internal cognitive networks and external environments by using photography, storytelling, and AI tools.

The podcast episode of Culture Matters at the Urban Media Art studio features Joshua Sariñana discussing his project Mental Mapping: The Art of Exploring Connections, which bridges neuroscience, visual art, and AI to examine how individuals connect their internal experiences with their external environments.

A few images from my series Mental Mapping were selected for Point of View, the first community zine published by Photoworks SF. The zine features work from over 100 photographers and highlights a wide range of visual perspectives.

A piece from my Mental Mapping project, Jessica TranVo, was selected for inclusion in the juried exhibition {a}temporal, presented by the Cambridge Art Association at the Kathryn Schultz Gallery.

Joshua Sariñana, PhD, December’s Artist of the Month, is a neuroscientist-turned-artist whose work bridges the gap between cognition, space, and visual storytelling. With a background in neuroscience research at MIT, where he studied brain networks and memory, Sariñana integrates scientific principles into his artistic practice. Read the Interview

Joshua Sariñana, PhD, showcased his Holga photography at the 10th Annual Somerville Toy Camera Festival at the Nave Gallery from September 9 to October 7, 2023. Using the iconic low-tech Holga camera, Sariñana’s work explores themes of memory and perception, embracing the imperfections and unpredictability of toy camera photography.

Curated by award-winning photographer Joshua Sariñana, Through These Realities is a powerful photography and poetry exhibition that challenges the dominant narratives perpetuated by mass media. This collaborative project brings together the voices and visions of six photographers of color—Adam Cordelle, Andrew Harris, Kenia Arbaiza, Wandy Pascoal, Xudong Liu, and Paul Sayed—paired with the evocative words of six poets of color—Kesper Wang, Isabella De Palo Garcia Perez, Durane West, Alysia Williams, Mayank Chugh, and Cesar Sanchez Beras.

Joshua Sariñana, PhD, serves as the curator of Through These Realities, a Somerville Arts Council-supported project that pairs poets and photographers of color to explore themes of racial and social justice through art. Inspired by a James Baldwin quote critiquing the American media’s role in distorting reality, the project challenges mainstream narratives by empowering people of color to share their perspectives. Poets and photographers collaborated to create visual works influenced by poetry to validate the experiences of communities of color and highlight their everyday realities.

Connecting with Joshua Sariñana, we discussed the ways he has joined the photographic arts with the field of science since his 2016 Griffin Exhibition, Prosopagnosia, the right vs. left brain myth regarding creativity, and the importance of programming to purposefully create diversity and inclusivity when working toward racial and social justice.

From December 6, 2021, to February 28, 2022, The Poetry of Science was exhibited at MIT’s Rotch Gallery, presenting a dynamic blend of poetry and photography that highlights the experiences and contributions of scientists of color. Directed by Joshua Sariñana, PhD, this multimedia project merges art and science to challenge traditional narratives and foster positive associations between communities of color and the sciences. Each work pairs portraits of scientists, visually embedded into natural landscapes, with poetry that explores their research, motivations, and lives.

Joshua Sariñana, PhD ’11, merges his expertise in neuroscience, photography, and storytelling in The Poetry of Science, a public art installation advocating for racial and social justice. Supported by a Cambridge Arts Council Art for Racial Justice Grant, this multimedia project pairs scientists of color with poets of color to create collaborative works that celebrate their contributions and amplify their voices. Through portraits by Vanessa Leroy and poetry inspired by the scientists’ work, the project fosters a deeper understanding of science and promotes positive associations with communities of color.

The Poetry of Science, in collaboration with The Peoples' heART, is a project that utilizes art to address health equity and representation in medical institutions like the Massachusetts General Hospital.

In response to systemic racism and the lack of representation of people of color (POC) in media and art, Joshua Sariñana, PhD, co-created The Poetry of Science with poet and editor Linsey Jayne. This multidisciplinary project combines poetry and photography to amplify the voices and experiences of POC, countering negative stereotypes with positive representations. Read the Article»

I caught up with the multi-faceted Joshua Sariñana to talk about his new project with the Somerville Arts Council, titled Through These Realities, that will seek six local poets and photographers of color, who will create a series of images, inspired by prompt-guided poetry from poets.

Joshua Sariñana, PhD, contributes his expertise in neuroscience and photography to the documentary In an Instant, which examines the evolving role of photography in memory and identity. Sariñana discusses how the overwhelming volume of digital images challenges our ability to process and retain memories, as the act of capturing and viewing photographs becomes increasingly disconnected. Drawing parallels between analog and digital photography, he highlights how physical media, like Polaroid film, fosters a tactile and emotional connection that modern digital platforms often lack.

In Image of Structure, Joshua Sariñana reimagines the iconic Stata Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Stripped of its vivid colors, the architectural marvel is rendered in monochrome, transformed into a surreal, graphic space. The series was on exhibition at the Griffin Museum of Photography in 2020. Learn More»

Joshua Sariñana’s work was featured in Portrait of America, a group exhibition at Fabrik Projects in Los Angeles, showcasing the winners of the 2018 Portrait of America contest. The exhibition, running from November 23 to December 14, 2019, examined the evolving identity of the United States through photography, offering diverse perspectives on what it means to be American.