Florencia Alba
Captured by Pano Media
Using Your Blinkers
In this talk, Florencia Alba traces her journey as a paper artist through movement, migration, and choice. She begins in Mexico, where her love of colour, making, and transformation shaped both her creative voice and her engineering background. A university poster project becomes the first moment she realizes that her hands can carry emotion, not just ideas.
What starts as a small side hustle selling paper bouquets quickly grows into large-scale installations, brand activations, and festival work. Without a master plan, her practice becomes full-time through curiosity, repetition, and saying yes before knowing how. The first major pivot comes when she moves to Canada, leaving behind her network, clients, and momentum.
Unable to work immediately, Florencia focuses on building a portfolio from scratch. A single post in a Facebook group leads to dozens of collaborations and becomes the foundation for her Canadian practice. When the pandemic hits, she pivots again, narrowing her focus to window displays and taking a direct, self-driven approach to outreach. Her honesty and persistence lead to her first Canadian client, then many more.
Another move, this time to Ottawa, forces her to confront scarcity again. With fewer obvious opportunities, she shifts markets and begins working with corporate and large-scale clients, leading to projects with major brands and institutions. Each pivot brings growth, but also the realization that momentum can sometimes pull you away from where you actually want to go.
She closes by returning to the metaphor of driving. You do not need to stop to change direction. You can signal your intentions, plan your turns, and take control of the wheel. The work continues, but the direction is intentional.
@florencia.paper
