Reframed: Student Exhibition & Showcase

After eight weeks of exploration, practice, and creative growth, participants of Reframed: Seeing Charlotte Through the Lens come together for a culminating student exhibition showcasing their work. This public showcase highlights a series of photographs that reflect each student’s unique perspective on everyday life and the streets of Charlotte.

During the exhibition, students will briefly share insights into their experience in the class, discussing the inspiration, intention, and point of view behind their selected images. Drawing from lessons on composition, light and shadow, and the tradition of street photography, the works on view capture fleeting moments, quiet observations, and powerful narratives found in ordinary spaces.

Inspired by the legacy of photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson and Jamel Shabazz rooted in hands-on street practice, Reframed encourages participants to slow down, observe deeply, and recognize the extraordinary within the everyday. This final exhibition celebrates not only the images themselves, but the creative confidence, storytelling, and personal vision each photographer developed throughout the series.

The exhibition is open to the public and invites the community to experience Charlotte through fresh eyes.

Donald Sanchez was born and raised in the Bronx. He attended the High School of Art & Design in Manhattan, majoring in Advertising Design and Illustration. While there, his art studies included oil painting, water colors, photography, packaging design, life drawing, and illustration, just to name a few. He moved his family to Charlotte in 2005. In the mid 1980’s, he picked up a camera and began to pursue photography. Over the years, Donald has had the opportunity to exhibit his work in various galleries shows locally, and in New York City as well. He recently had on loan 10 of his framed images hanging in the Madrid home of the U.S. Ambassador to Spain through the Art in Embassies program of the U.S. Department of State. Donald is a published photographer and has been a Charlotte-based street photographer since 2018. His work can be seen on Instagram (@donaldsanchezphotography). He is currently a volunteer instructor for the non-profit organization Creating Exposure for the Arts, Inc., teaching beginning photography to Charlotte teens and assists in developing the course curriculum.

Creating Exposure through the Arts (C.E.A.) is a non-profit located in Charlotte, North Carolina designed to mentor, educate, and empower youth by creating opportunities for exposure through the arts. Young artists will learn to be proficient in their craft under the supervision of professionals and volunteers.