MEET MARIANA
Mariana Acosta Burns is a bilingual Mexican multimedia artist and designer based in California. Holding a BA in Corporate & Executive Image and certificates in Film/TV Animation, she works across visual development, character design, animation, tlacuilolli, illustration, film, and graphic design. Her practice is grounded in Latin American cultural representation, bridging ancestral traditions with contemporary digital methods to amplify diverse narratives.
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.
Weaving culture into contemporary storytelling
Recognition & Awards
Mariana's 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.
Mariana's independent creative studio, developing and collaborating in projects with social and cultural focus that amplify underrepresented voices and communities.
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.