Hola! I'm Maria, a creative strategist, visual storyteller, and lifelong learner.
My work lives at the intersection of art, community, and purpose.
I’ve built a career that weaves through public service, nonprofit leadership, private sector, and creative expression. I’ve managed community-centered programs, led diversity recruitment efforts, designed advocacy campaigns, supported donor development, and exhibited artwork that explores identity. Across every chapter, my guiding question has remained the same:
How can we build more intentional, inclusive, and human-centered spaces within ourselves and around us?
With a background in Communications and a Master's in Public and Nonprofit Administration, I bring both structure and soul to the work I do. I thrive in spaces where strategy meets heart, and where projects are driven by values and social impact as much as outcomes.
This portfolio is a collection of what I’ve created, contributed to, and continue to evolve. From strategic initiatives to visual narratives. Whether I’m consulting, collaborating, or creating, I aim to leave things better than I found them.
Artist Statement
As a visual artist, I explore identity as a continuous awakening, self-discovery, and transformation shaped by experiences, choices, and self-reflection. Through my lens, I embrace the authenticity of the human experience, drawn to the beauty inherent in the ordinary. At the core of my creative process lies spontaneity and intuition. I use my camera as an extension of my instincts, capturing moments as they unfold organically. My work invites viewers to see themselves mirrored in my portraiture and find otherness, compassion, and empathy in this shared human experience.
Artist Bio
Maria del Mar Villalvazo Mendoza is an emerging visual artist who enjoys expressing herself through art. Her roots lie in Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico. Currently, she resides in Saint Paul, MN. She’s formally trained in digital photography and self-taught in experimental photography. As a Fine Art Documentary Photographer, she explores identity and its ever-evolving nature and pairs the narrative of social issues with what she captures through her lens. She works closely with fellow Latino artists, documenting art exhibitions and performances. Her work has been exhibited internationally in Mexico and the U.S.
In June 2023, she performed her first solo exhibition, "Coexistir" at Breve Café Gallery in Mexico. In this installation, she invites the observer to question the concept of inner duality. Later, in September 2023, her work from “Coexistir” was installed as the scenography of “Desde Aqui” a dance performance by the Latino artist Jose A. Luis at Red Eye Theater. In this collaborative opportunity, she performed in a live artist talk where she discussed the use of cyanotype as a medium of expression and the inspiration for her work.
If you’re looking for someone who can bridge strategy and purpose, let's work together!
Thank you!