Visual Artist | Violinist | Cultural Manager | Arts Advocate | Educator

About

Gabriela Valencia is a visual artist, violinist, cultural manager, arts advocate, and art and music educator originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador, and based in the Tampa Bay area. From 2013 to 2020, she owned and directed Gabriela Valencia Studio and Gallery in St. Pete Beach, Florida, a space dedicated to artistic expression, cultural exchange, and community engagement.

Formation

She began studying violin at the age of nine at the Conservatory and painting at the age of fourteen at a Fine Arts high school in Guayaquil, Ecuador. From an early age, Valencia developed a lifelong multidisciplinary practice that integrates visual arts, music, education, cultural leadership, and community engagement.

Her academic and professional background includes a Master’s degree in Cultural Management, training in music pedagogy, a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising and Marketing, studies in semiotics, and a Montessori Assistant Teacher Certificate.

Artistic Practice

Valencia’s work explores symbolism, surrealism, and imaginary realism through oil, acrylic, pastel, and mixed media. Rooted in metaphor, research-driven inquiry, and introspection, her practice transforms emotions, memory, and lived experience into symbolic visual narratives.

Her visual language combines figurative forms, organic elements, and poetic fragments to explore identity, memory, migration, nature, spirituality, consciousness, and the unseen dimensions of human experience. Inspired by metaphysical inquiry and the mysteries of nature, her paintings create a dialogue between image, language, and symbolism.

Exhibitions & Collections

Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Ecuador, Florida, and Athens, Greece, and is included in private and corporate collections across the United States, Canada, and Germany.

Teaching & Community Engagement

Valencia teaches visual arts to elementary students and leads after-school violin and art programs at Alegría Montessori School. She actively participates in multidisciplinary artistic, educational, and cultural initiatives through collaborations with local and international collectives, community symphony orchestras in Pinellas County, and nonprofit organizations.

Leadership & Initiatives

She serves as President-Elect of the Board of Directors of the Coalition of Hispanic Artists (CHA).

In 2022, she founded COLLAGE, an artistic and social initiative supporting immigrants in the Tampa Bay area through art and music programs, fostering creativity, cultural connection, and community engagement until 2024.

As an Ecuadorian artist living in the United States, her work and advocacy contribute to ongoing dialogues on cultural identity, belonging, and intercultural exchange.

“My art finds real meaning when I connect with the dreams of others”

Artist Statement

Gabriela Valencia’s work is rooted in Contemporary Surrealism and Symbolism and informed by the literary and visual traditions of Magical Realism. Grounded in her Latin American heritage, she creates visual narratives that explore identity, memory, migration, nature, spirituality, consciousness, and the unseen dimensions of human experience.

Working with oil, acrylic, pastel, and mixed media, Valencia constructs layered compositions in which texture, color, light, and shadow become carriers of emotional and symbolic meaning. Her practice moves between intuition and research, allowing personal experience, observation, and inquiry to shape the development of each work.

Each painting begins with an emotional or symbolic impulse that evolves through reflection, metaphor, and visual exploration. Through this process, imagery emerges as a dialogue between lived experience, memory, and imagination. Figurative forms, organic elements, and poetic fragments intertwine to create multiple layers of meaning and interpretation.

Poetry and written language are integral to Valencia’s practice. She writes original poetry and incorporates textual elements into her work, allowing image and language to coexist as parallel narratives that deepen the emotional and conceptual resonance of each piece.

As both a visual artist and musician, Valencia is influenced by rhythm, silence, and emotional cadence, which shape the structure and atmosphere of her compositions. Music informs the way she builds tension, harmony, movement, and visual flow within the pictorial space.

At the core of her practice is a commitment to fostering reflection, empathy, and transformation. Through symbolism, poetic imagery, and layered narratives, Valencia creates spaces for contemplation and connection, inviting viewers to engage more deeply with themselves, one another, and the living world.

Memberships: Local membership: Member WADA at https://www.warehouseartsdistrictstpete.org/Member-Blog/9379014

Coalition of Hispanic Artists artcha.org

International Membership:  CAN at https://www.community-arts.net/network-map  

Volunteer work: Nicerfl Organization, Love Without Borders for Refugees in Need, Pinellas Park Orchestra, Tampa Bay Latin Film Festivals, and Coalition of Hispanic Artists