meet mariana
Mariana Acosta Burns is a multimedia artist and designer whose practice bridges Mesoamerican and Latin American visual traditions with contemporary digital art, animation, and illustration. A descendant of the Chichimeca people and California-based immigrant, she draws from Mesoamerican visual traditions and the nomadic character of her heritage to create work that centers Latin American stories and the communities who live them. She is the founder of Kukul Estudio; her work has been exhibited at the Chan Zuckerberg Community Space in Redwood City and screened at festivals across the US and Latin America.
Stories keep cultures alive. Mariana's art bridges ancestral and contemporary methods, honoring the visual languages our ancestors left us while making space for the voices still waiting to be heard. Memory is not the past; it's how we build the future.
ni de aquí ni de allá, de todas partes
Her independent creative studio, developing and collaborating in projects with social and cultural focus that amplify underrepresented voices and communities.
Recognition & Awards
Her experimental short film In the Beginning has been selected for film festivals across the United States and Mexico, and screened at prominent cultural venues. Recognition includes the Chadwick Okamoto Award for diverse storytelling and the Student Leadership Award at De Anza College.
A Nomad's Home at CZI
A Nomad's Home is a collection of three mini amoxtlis in traditional screenfold format, exhibited at the Chan Zuckerberg Community Space in Redwood City, curated by the Redwood City Parks & Arts Foundation. Each piece was digitally designed and hand-painted with acrylics on artisanal amate paper, applying tlacuilolli—the ancestral prehispanic visual language—to document immigrant experiences in San Mateo County.
