Elena Maza

I was born in Havana, Cuba, and came to the U.S. in 1961 as a result of Castro's revolution, living in New Mexico with a foster family for a year until my own family was able to leave. A resident of the Washington area since then, I studied architecture at Catholic University, where I gained my first exposure to the local arts scene working with a group of students at Walter Hopps’ Washington Gallery of Modern Art. I started painting in 1970 while working as an architectural draftswoman and designer, and later studied at the Corcoran School of Art. My paintings have been exhibited nationally in juried and invitational shows. I have received a number of awards, including an individual artist grant from Montgomery county in 1994, and been curator for art exhibitions locally and in Delaware, where “Collage of Cultures: Many Visions One Community” received a Governors award. I am a past President of the Women’s Caucus for Art of Greater Washington, and of The Cuban American Cultural Society of Washington. A book about my life, Embracing America: A Cuban Exile Comes of Age, by Margaret Paris, was published by the University Presses of Florida in 2002.