Bangkukuk is featured on Intercontinental Cry
Our 4-minute trailer was premiered by indigenous rights blog Intercontinental Cry, along with an article written by Art of Solidarity co-founder and film director Aleks Martray.
Study Abroad Blog
Artists from across North America visit Central America to teach art workshops in local schools and collaborate with local artists. Read their blogs!
Bangkukuk Film
The Rama people have lived on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua for thousands of years, long before the existence of the nation. In 2013 the Nicaraguan government passed Law 840 allowing a Chinese company to construct an interoceanic canal which would cut through the Rama village of Bangkukuk, forcibly removing them from their ancestral land. Our documentary follows the 3 remaining families in the village as they struggle to defend and preserve their land and way of life in the face of this mega-project.
Immigrant Voices, Out of the Shadows: Using art to tell the stories of young immigrants
Last year, more than 50,000 unaccompanied minors left their homes in Central America for the United States, most fleeing gangs and violence. Maryland was a major destination, and many settled in Baltimore. News accounts at the time portrayed a swarm of humanity fleeing across the border, but to artists Maria Aldana and Tanya Garcia, those undocumented children were not faceless masses but courageous, resilient individuals with unique stories. Now, some of those stories will be told.
Aldana and Garcia are the creative forces behind “Después de la Frontera/After the Border,” a multimedia art presentation. The exhibit, curated by Garcia, a Deutsch Foundation community art fellow and overseen by Aldana, community arts manager for the Creative Alliance, will open on Aug 22 and move to Towson University in October 2015.
The project began with a coalition of service providers who work with immigrants and wanted to tell the stories of youths who had come to Baltimore in 2014, in part to counteract what they considered unfair portrayals in the media. They proposed the idea to the Creative Alliance, where Garcia was already exploring similar issues in her art, and “Después de la Frontera” was born.
Solidarity Through Art in Nicaragua | MICA
Alumnae visit Central America to teach art workshops in local schools and collaborate with local artists.
Celebrating Pinatas, a Mexican Christmas Tradition in Southeast Baltmore
The front cover of the Baltimore Sun describes Maria Gabriela Aldana's work with Latino women in Highlandtown, sharing their culture though workshops, exhibition, and street procession.
Take 5 with Maria Aldana, Great Halloween Lantern Parade director
Take Five with Maria Aldana, Great Halloween Lantern Parade director, in this Baltimore Sun article. Never been to the Halloween Lantern Parade? Here are 5 reasons you should attend this year.
Chicanismo Y Latinismo | MICA
Nine Latino artists with roots in five Latin countries and the U.S. including Texas, Philadelphia and Bronx are showcased as part of Chicanismo Y Latinismo at the Creative Alliance August 22-September 27, 2014. Exhibitors include new Creative Alliance Community Arts Fellow, Tanya Garcia (MFACA 2014) and Community Arts Manager, Maria Aldana (MACA 2006) co-curator, as well as fellow community artists/activists Edgar Reyes (MFACA 2014) and Juan Ortiz (MFACA 2015) co-curator. Other stellar artists exhibiting include Uruguayan mural artist, Pablo Machioli and internationally exhibited Francisco Delgado and Michelle Angela Ortiz.
Scene Seen: Chicanismo Y Latinismo @ the Creative Alliance
Chicanismo y Latinismo is a group exhibition that explores how the Chicano movement has continued to evolve by moving beyond its West Coast origins and expand its sense of justice to include a multiplicity of Latin American identities. The show also explores how and why artists of various Latin American nationalities identify with or against the label of being Chicano. Curated by Juan Ortiz, Jeremy Stern, and Maria Aldana.
It's easy to see where the bus stops in Highlandtown
Highlandtown 'BUS' stop draws natinoal attention in this public art collaboration between the Highlandtown residents, European Union, Creative Alliance, SECDC, and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts.
15 Magically Bad Ass Women I Know And You Should Know Too
"Gold Womyn" blog curated and organized by Bilphena Yahwon, features AOS cofounder, Maria Aldana. Published March 1 2016.