Milena and Maya are multitalented artists from Bolivia and Mexico, bonded in Calgary by their love for nature, art, and community. Since 2018 they have been on a collaborative journey of creative expression, professional development, connection to nature, and community support. In 2023, they created Blooming Diversity to provide a space of creativity and wellness for artists from various backgrounds. It aims to create a nature-inspired, polychromatic, warm, and welcoming community. They organize exhibitions, hikes, gallery-hopping, sketching in plein air, forest bathing, social gatherings, and critiques as a group. Nature inspires their art practices and strengthens their connections.
Blooming Diversity “Celebrating Art, Community & Connection to the Land.”
Maya Corona & Milena Vasquez
Milena Vásquez
Milena Vásquez is a visual artist, designer, and photographer based in Calgary. Since 2016, Milena has collaborated with other artists and art organizations, organizing events, promoting emerging talents, and fostering inclusivity within the art community. Milena’s work is based on finding inspiration, creativity, and healing through nature exploration and community engagement. Drawing from her childhood memories of nature explorations with her naturalist father and working with family botanical archives, Milena explores landscapes and experiments with dreamy photographic styles. Milena’s art pieces are love letters to her family, poems to Pachamama (Mother Earth) and a gift to her heritage.
Maya Corona
Maya Corona, a self-taught visual artist based in Calgary and originally from Mexico City, Maya infuses her vibrant and bold paintings with a profound sense of freedom and joy. She explores techniques such as acrylics, watercolours, charcoal, mixed media, and digital art. Transitioning from a 20-year graphic design career, she fully embraced her fine art journey in 2019. With two solo shows at the Jubilee Auditorium and 4 cSpace Mardaloop and participation in 20 group exhibitions, Maya unites communities through art, sharing her vision and inspiring creativity.