Exploring how our relationships with community shape storytelling and self-identity
Solena Aguilar is a textile artist from San Francisco currently foraging for fabric in New York City. They use thrifted materials to create stories about community care and ancestral knowledge sharing. Drawing inspiration from their Nicaraguan and Queer background, Solena indulges in different pattern-making practices to build characters that help describe seemingly complex topics in accessible ways.
They believe art is for everyone to witness and experience. Through exhibitions, children’s books, murals, and collaborative workshops, they continue to explore how textiles, storytelling, and shared spaces can foster connection and understanding.
Solena reads their bilingual children’s book at Taylor & Co. Books in Brooklyn, NY
Elementary, middle, and high school students come together to paint the OUR PLACE with Solena in East Harlem.
For the book launch of What Do You Need/¿Qué Necesitas?, Solena read aloud their story while Lil Park Drag Show Drag Artists performed the scenes around them.
Solena reads their story in Spanish at a farmers market in Puerto Rico.
CV
Education:
BFA Art and Design from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.
AIGA Certificate for Managing Real World Projects, 2024 - Project Management Certificate
Curatorial History:
September 2025 — LAYERS: All Trans Art Exhibition, Curator, 21 artists, Brooklyn Art Cave, Brooklyn, NY
June 2021 — ¡Viva La Causa!, Curator, 27 never-before-seen photos of the United Farmworkers Movement, Creative Works, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA (Permanent installation)
Residencies:
July - September 2025 — Art Crawl Harlem, Governors Island, NY (3-month residency)
Publications:
December 2024 — Manteniendo Nuestra Cultura / Maintaining Our Culture, Cookbook, Designer and Curator, Veggie Mijas
July 2023 — What Do You Need? /¿Qué Necesitas? Bilingual Children’s Book, Illustrator and Creator, Stirred Stories and Veggie Mijas
Public Art:
August 2024 — OUR PLACE Interior Mural, Promise Academy II Elementary School, Harlem Children’s Zone, Harlem, NY (Permanent installation)
June 2024 — FATED CORPUS, Interior Mural, ChaShaMa, Manhattan, NY
Exhibitions:
September 2025 — Teeny Tiny Trifecta, group exhibition, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
June 2025 — Please Touch The Art, solo exhibition, ChaShaMa, Manhattan, NY
April 2025 — Flower and I, group exhibition, Flowing Art Space, Manhattan, NY
February 2025 — Portals of Love, group exhibition, Brooklyn Art Cave, Brooklyn, NY
December 2024 — GLORY: Glorifying the Beauty of the Island and the Horrors of the Colony, group exhibition, AM:PM Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
November 2022 — El Baile De Los Que Sobran, group exhibition, Copa Cabana, Manhattan, NY
Professional Experience:
January 2025 - Present — Teaching Artist, Trans formative Schools, middle school afterschool program, Manhattan, NY
November 2024 - Present — Design and Communications Manager, DREAM!, high school afterschool arts and mediation program, Bronx, NY
September 2022 - August 2025 — Art Director, Veggie Mijas, food distribution and education organization, National
February 2022 - November 2024 — Design and Photography Associate, Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ), Harlem, NY
April 2022 - October 2024 — Graphics Manager, Lil Park Drag Show, Manhattan, NY.
September 2020 - July 2021 — Creative Assistant, Creative Works, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA.
July 2020 - July 2021 — Graphic Designer and Organizer, Central Coast Mutual Aid Network, Central Coast, CA.
September 2018 - July 2021 — Creative Director and Co-Digital Manager, Mustang News, San Luis Obispo, CA.
Awards:
2021 — 1st Place, Inside Spread Design, California College Media Awards, CA
2020 — 2nd Place, Special Section Cover, National PINACLE College Media Awards
2020 — 1st Place, Illustration, California College Media Awards, CA
CONTACT
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