Makayla Joy Castillo is a BFA Painting student at the Maryland College Institute of Art. Through her practice, she uses art as a way to process pivotal moments from her own life and the lives of those closest to her. Castillo’s work serves as a space for reflection—mining memory, emotion, and experience to better understand her evolving sense of identity. Her paintings are deeply personal and infused with intuitive, often unexplained symbolism, inviting viewers to form their own interpretations and connections within the work.