Aldana Biography

For over 20 years, María Gabriela Aldana Enríquez has produced community-centered art. Originally from Managua, Nicaragua, Ms. Aldana is a proud immigrant with a lifetime of experiences between cultures as a former asylee raised in Miami as a child by her family. She calls Baltimore, Maryland home where she earned her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2003 and was part of the first group to earn a MA in Community Arts in 2006. She holds K-12 Fine Arts Teacher license in the state of Maryland from Notre Dame, University of Maryland. Most recently, Aldana wrote, directed, produced and edited the three-time award-winning documentary, “Echoes from the Key Bridge: A Baltimore Longshoreman”, and continues to capture the human toll of the collapse of the Key Bridge today.

Her largest outdoor solo mural and most recent public artwork was completed in October 2025. Titled "Queernesseseseses," the mural celebrates queer joy, resilience, and liberation. It is the largest LGBTQ+ mural in the state of Maryland. Located at 156 N. Lakewood Avenue in Baltimore, it was created through a deeply collaborative process involving community partners, volunteers, and nine paid immigrant and at-risk youth interns. The mural has been named a finalist for "Best Mural" and Aldana was nominated as “Best Visual Artist” in Baltimore Magazine's 2026 Readers' Poll. She says, "I love this mural so much. I am so proud of it—not only for its scale, but for the collective care, creativity, and community that brought it to life."