KEYNOTES & SPEAKINGYOU DON'T HAVE TO
BECOME SMALLER TO BELONG
What happens when you stop editing the parts of yourself that make you distinctive?
UNAPOLOGETICALLY
NEON
Maya Corona is a Calgary-based artist and keynote speaker who combines personal storytelling, visual art and live canvas painting to explore creativity, cultural identity, belonging and the courage to take up space.
KEYNOTES
❤︎
WORKSHOPS
❤︎
LIVE CANVAS EXPERIENCES
❤︎
KEYNOTES ❤︎ WORKSHOPS ❤︎ LIVE CANVAS EXPERIENCES ❤︎
YOU DON'T HAVE TO
BECOME SMALLER TO
BELONG
Maya's story begins with a quiet little girl sitting in a first-grade classroom, completely absorbed in a box of coloured pencils.
Years later, those colours would become her artistic language.
But somewhere along the way, she learned to tone them down.
To make them softer.
Easier.
More acceptable.
Unapologetically Neon
is the story of what happened when she stopped.
From a box of coloured pencils in a first-grade classroom to giant neon paintings on walls, Maya’s story asks simple questions
What happens if you
let your light through?
THIS
ISN'T
JUST A
TALK
Maya doesn't simply stand on stage and talk about creativity.
She will bring the canvas with her.
A blank white surface becomes part of the story.
As the keynote unfolds, colour begins to appear.
The audience watches the metaphor happen in real time.
Memory becomes colour.
Colour becomes identity.
Identity becomes courage.
It’s not just something
people hear.
It's something they
experience.
THE JOURNEY
01 — THE FIRST LANGUAGE
A box of coloured pencils. A first-grade classroom. The beginning of a voice.
02 — THE TAPESTRY OF MEMORY
Mexico, family, markets, Acapulco sunsets. the colours that shaped how we see.
03 — THE SAFE PALETTE
Moving to Canada. Becoming a designer. Learning to tone it down.
04 — FROM INVISIBLE TO UNAPOLOGETIC
Finding your voice and discovering what happens when you stop hiding.
05 — THE UNMUTED CANVAS
The challenge to stop shrinking and let the light through.
The keynote can be adapted for the audience, venue and event goals without losing the heart ♡ of the story.
—
The keynote can be adapted for the audience, venue and event goals without losing the heart ♡ of the story. —
ONE STORY.
MANY ROOMS.
SCHOOL
& YOUTH
Creativity, identity,
culture and confidence.
UNIVERSITIES
Creative identity,
belonging and authentic expression.
FOR COMPANIES
Creative courage, individuality,
belonging and innovative thinking.
CONFERENCES
Storytelling, visual art and live painting that creates a shared experience.
ARTS & CULTURAL
ORGANIZATIONS
A conversation about the stories and experiences that shape how we see the world.
CHROMATIC
INTELLIGENCE
A different way of seeing
Colour isn’t just something we see. It carries memory, culture, emotion, place and identity. Maya explores how colour shapes the way we experience ourselves and the world around us.