The circus corner of her world provides a break from an intensely professional persona, one filled with artistic reflections, political discourse, and career goals. Every moment is carefully organized in a planner: an agenda dominated by shades of gray, with few clear black-and-white moments.

But she relishes the busyness. She recently graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute with a double major in Fiber and Creative Writing, plus a minor in Sound. For the 2025 Commencement, she was selected as the sole student speaker. During the school year, she juggled up to four jobs at once (“Never less than two,” she says.) It all followed her recent participation with the International Youth Think Tank (IYTT), which focuses on promoting and preserving democracy on a global scale.

“For that, I was the only one who had formally studied art,” she says. “A lot of people were like, ‘Oh, I paint’ or ‘I do this,’ which I thought was awesome. But I was definitely the only one with a degree outside the realms of politics, policy, or environmental science.”

“And it didn’t feel isolating. It actually felt really validating.”

A key part of her political engagement also comes from a long history of volunteering. Growing up in Illinois, she did it often, and after graduating, Farinas de Leon has renewed that commitment. She’s currently training to become a hospital advocate and plans to volunteer during local elections.

She credits the KCAI Fiber department with helping her hold onto these values. Her classmates showed a genuine interest in her IYTT experience, and both classmates and faculty encouraged her to share what she learned.

“They were like, ‘Debrief us. Let’s talk.’ And so we did,” she says.

“Honestly, a lot of the conversations we had at the think tank are things we already talk about every day in art school. I was like, ‘Oh my God. We do talk about this stuff all the time. It’s more informal, sure, but it’s real.”

Image: Artwork by Madeline Farinas de Leon (’25 Fiber, Creative Writing, & Sound)

But ask her to describe herself in a different context and she might give you a different answer.

“I definitely see myself as a performance artist, even when things aren't a performance,” she says.

“Even when I’m weaving or beading, there’s a performative aspect because of the effort involved and the way my body moves during the process. I think about performance a lot, which, obviously, comes from being a circus performer.”

Farinas de Leon’s third personal label is aerialist, an acrobatic performer who works suspended high above the ground using hoops, ropes, and similar equipment. She’s also developing hand balancing skills, which involve holding poses while supporting her body weight on her arms. And if that weren’t enough, she also stilt walks and performs with fans (meaning items you wave, not admirers).

But simply put, she is an aerialist.

Image by Kellie Green