Bio: Karen M. Zea was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, C.A. in 1977 and migrated to the U.S. in 1980. Raised in Long Beach, California, and is now based in Los Angeles. She is a fine art photographer and a multidisciplinary installation artist. She received her AA in Fine Art Photography, Fine Art Studio Arts, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Humanities at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, California, in 2023. Her work facilitates a safe platform to share common ancestral traditions, such as storytelling, textiles, and weaving, to preserve the cultural history and knowledge that has been forced into erasure through colonization and the effects of assimilation. Each work gives a voice to marginalized populations, such as those who suffer in silence through systemic injustice. erasure, or the disconnection created by forced borders of indigenous lands and her sustainable practices. Her work has been exhibited in several group exhibitions such as (Immigratus) Product of Immigrants, MFN Lucha, It Matters to Me, COC Annual Juried Exhibitions. Her work has been published in both the cul-de-sac and the Kings River Review. Her work focuses on identity, tradition, cultural belonging, and memory. Her work facilitates the preservation of familial histories and sustainable practices, hoping to strengthen the current bonds within marginalized communities and their allies.