ON VIEW IN HAL GOMER GALLERY
Echoes Of Our Ancestors
A group exhibition celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
Hal Gomer Gallery I September 30-November 9, 2025
Reception: October 16, 2025 6 - 8 pm
Echoes Of Our Ancestors: Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month Exhibition showcases the rich and vibrant culture of Hispanic and Latin American communities through a diverse array of artwork. Featuring both local and regional artists, the exhibition highlights various mediums, including painting, sculpture, and mixed media artworks. This exhibition not only celebrates artistic expression but also fosters a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural contributions of Hispanic and Latin American individuals to society. Visitors are invited to engage with the art and participate in discussions that honor the heritage, traditions, and narratives that shape this dynamic community.
Exhibiting Artists:
Delzy Alarcon - Delzy Alarcon, a dual citizen of the United States and El Salvador, navigated a borderless journey from an early age, connecting deeply with both cultures. Raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where the majority of the Hispanic population is Salvadoran, Alarcon developed a strong sense of cultural identity and community. They earned an associate degree from Montgomery County Community College during the Covid-19 pandemic, while simultaneously interning at VisArts, and went on to graduate Summa Cum Laude from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in 2024. At MICA, they earned a BFA in General Fine Arts, with minors in Illustration and Painting. As a finalist in the 2022 AXA Art Prize exhibition in New York, Alarcon’s work has gained recognition for its poignant intersection of personal experience and broader societal themes. Their dual citizenship has not only kept them close to their roots in Central America but has also fueled their commitment to community-driven art practices. Alarcon has volunteered in art workshops for elementary students, creating spaces for healing and expression. Based in Baltimore, MD, Alarcon’s practice explored the transformative power of art. Whether through their paintings or educational initiatives, they sought to merge creative expression with healing practices. As a speaker at Towson University’s Comunidad event on February 10, 2025, Alarcon shared their journey, discussing how immigration shaped their artistic vision and the role of storytelling in fostering understanding and diversity.
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Jainson Cedillo - Jainson Cedillo (b. 2002) is an Ecuadorian American artist, born in Queens, NY, raised for part of his life in Passaic, NJ, and currently based in Baltimore, MD. He developed a love for drawing using graphite pencils—his most accessible medium growing up—and has since expanded his practice to include acrylic and oil painting, printmaking, and woodworking. Later in life, Jainson began exploring and embracing his identities as both Ecuadorian and gay, a process that required deep introspection after feeling lost for much of his youth. Today, he is an artist who has found himself—loud and proud.
Jainson’s body of work weaves together his Hispanic heritage and queerness, blending expressive figures, vibrant colors, and personal narratives. Through his drawings, he explores these intersecting identities using bold symbolism, rich patterning, and emotional figuration. His goal is to normalize and celebrate the experience of being both queer and Hispanic, offering viewers a glimpse into the ways these identities shape his life. His work ranges from joyful and celebratory to deeply reflective, often addressing present-day challenges.
María Gabriela Aldana - Maria Gabriela Aldana is Art of Solidarity's cofounding director. She is a bilingual community artist, community organizer, oral historian, folklorist, and teacher. For over 20 years, Aldana has produced community-centered oral histories, murals, exhibitions, parades, documentary films, traveling exhibitions, family festivals, and multicultural events. 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 directed and produced “Echoes from the Key Bridge: A Baltimore Longshoreman” oral histories and documentary, officially selected as part of the 2025 Richmond International Film Festival. Aldana’s oral histories capturing stories of Baltimoreans following the collapse of the Key Bridge is archived at the Baltimore Museum of Industry.
“Gallopinto,” the staple food of Nicaraguans, is a sign and self-portrait sculpture is on view at Bogus Gallery at the Copycat until October 4th. Aldana is currently painting “Queernesseseseses” at Bmore Liberated in Patterson Park, which is a large gay mural made with community members of all ages.
Paula Zaremba - Paula Zaremba (she/ella) (b. 1991) is based in Baltimore, MD, was born and raised in Northern Virginia, and her first family roots are in Mexico and El Salvador. Her primary medium is digital art, including photographs and photo painting to create digital collages and illustrations. She studied graphic art and design in high school and picked the creative practice back up in her late twenties. She weaves bright colors, jewel tones, and earth hues into her work to honor both vibrancy and our connection to madre tierra. Her recent pieces center the representation, depth, and strength of brown women in the Latinx diaspora, celebrating the bravery and beauty we carry, while others explore ambiguous grief, trauma, family separation, and cross-cultural experience.
She holds many identities also expressed in her artmaking – as wife & life partner (of Nick), as mother (to Félix), daughter, sister, auntie (of her first family and adoptive family), as friend (of many soul sisters), and as a public health professional (focused on mental wellbeing). She wishes to express gratitude for the privileges she holds that influence her ability to make art and develop as an artist - like access to healing supports & health care, and various educational and professional opportunities. She is open to community-based art projects and collaborations, especially those focused on nurturing youth, so please reach out if you’d like to connect.