Creative Maria Elena

08/30/2026

Do you think a bird's journey and a person's journey could ever be the same story?

I'm excited to share Echoes of Migrants, a collective art exhibition exploring the connections between bird migration and human migration.

Selected artists have spent time observing birds in their own environments, creating original work inspired by what they've seen and felt. Their pieces will come together in a traveling exhibition presented across the United States, Mexico, and Germany.

I'm grateful to be building this with Amelia King-Kostelac, Kenneth Walker, Atziri PérezGalindo, and Esmeralda Ramos, with support from the Urban Bird Project (UT San Antonio & the Mellow Foundation).

Artist introductions are coming soon! 🎨📸



Urban Bird Project
UTSA - The University of Texas at San Antonio
UT San Antonio Graduate School

05/18/2026

13 years since this collaboration with my beautiful, talented sister, and BFF ❤️

Short story “Sad Story No. 1” by Yoana Vargas Magaña

“Girl was sitting on the bench. It was a cold winter. She didn’t remember feeling that kind of cold before. It was not just her bones or her skin…”

04/29/2026

I’m happy to share that my work is featured in the latest GOAL Newsletter.

The issue includes two of my contributions:
1. WE EXIST: Art, Dissent, and Nature’s Right to Be Heard in Environmental Justice.
2. A research contribution on air quality in Berlin, using satellite observations to analyze pollution patterns and their implications for public health.

The full issue can be downloaded here:
https://www.dggv.de/goal-newsletter/

The GOAL network (Geo-Network of Latin American–German alumni supported by the DAAD) is an interdisciplinary network connecting alumni, researchers, and professionals from Latin America and Germany. It promotes collaboration in geosciences, environmental research, and science communication.

The network website is now hosted by the Deutsche Geologische Gesellschaft – Geologische Vereinigung (DGGV):
https://www.dggv.de/en/goal/

Grateful to be part of this interdisciplinary network


UTSA - The University of Texas at San Antonio
UT San Antonio Graduate School

04/20/2026

It was a pleasure to present my research at the UTSA Graduate Student Appreciation Week (GSAW). Congratulations as well to my dear friends who also presented their research, and sincere thanks to UTSA, ConTex, the UT System, Secihti, and Olivia Mogollón for their continued support.

UT San Antonio Graduate School
UTSA - The University of Texas at San Antonio

03/20/2026

Es un honor poder participar en la exposición colectiva Mujer+Mujer 2026, que se llevará a cabo mañana 20 de marzo en el Museo Histórico de Reynosa. ¡Los esperamos! 🤩

Para continuar con la celebración del 277 Aniversario de la Fundación de Reynosa, el alcalde Carlos Peña Ortiz invita a las familias reynosenses a participar en las actividades culturales, artísticas y deportivas programadas del 15 al 21 de marzo, como parte de esta importante conmemoración. 🎉

Consulta la imagen para conocer la cartelera completa de eventos.

03/15/2026

I’m thrilled to share that I was awarded the Urban Bird Project Fellowship for Spring 2026 at UTSA.

The is an environmental justice initiative that brings together Arts, Ecology, and Mexican American & Indigenous Studies through birds. Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, it connects scholars, scientists, artists, and communities across South Texas through workshops, field trips, and public events.

I feel deeply honored to work alongside the Urban Bird Project leadership—Kenny Walker, Amelia King-Kostelac, Carolina Hinojosa, Eres Gomez, and Jen Smith—and to contribute to conversations advancing avian conservation, environmental justice, and cultural storytelling.

Receiving this fellowship is truly meaningful to me. Through the Urban Bird Project, I look forward to learning from inspiring mentors and fellow scholars while developing a project that connects birds, science, society, art, and environmental justice.

Discover more about the Urban Bird Project here:
https://urbanbirdproject.org/

🐦🦆🦅🦜

03/14/2026

Introducing the WE EXIST painting collection.

This series of fourteen paintings was inspired by the landmark case Sierra Club v. Morton (1972) and by Justice William O. Douglas’s visionary call to recognize natural entities as subjects with legal rights.

The works explore the intersection of art and environmental justice, inviting reflection on how we perceive and represent the natural world in an era of ecological transformation.

The collection was presented at the 6th EnJust Conference 2025 in Bonn, Germany, held 03–05 December 2025.

Explore the collection:
https://artfactorybook.my.canva.site/weexist

Credits
Artist: María Elena Vargas Magaña (WE EXIST series)
Curator/Museographer: Atziri PérezGalindo
Curatorial Text & Design: Esmeralda Ramos

01/26/2026

I’m happy to share that my latest art exhibition, WE EXIST, is now published on the EnJust Network webpage.

🔗 https://enjust.net/we-exist-art-dissent-and-the-right-of-nature-to-be-heardwe-exist-art-exhibition/

A special thank you to the founders and the entire EnJust Network team for creating a space where art, justice, and environmental dialogue can thrive.

01/18/2026

Explore the full WE EXIST collection:
🔗 https://artfactorybook.my.canva.site/weexist

During the Spring 2025 semester, I took two courses that deeply transformed the way I understand Law and the Environment. Under the guidance of Professor Robert Thompson, Environmental Law and Environmental Assessment became spaces for reflection, where legal cases revealed their human, ethical, and environmental weight.

Sierra Club v. Morton (1972), and Justice William O. Douglas’s dissent, stayed with me. The idea that nature could be recognized as a subject, not an object, resonated strongly and became the starting point of the We Exist art collection.

This collection was presented on December 3-5, 2025, at the 6th EnJust Conference 2025 at IDOS, Bonn, Germany.

12/23/2025

A glimpse of the We Exist Art Exhibition, where art, voice, and environmental justice come together.

6th EnJust Conference 2025
IDOS, Bonn, Germany
03-05 December