Delyla Ovalle-Bowyer

Delyla Ovalle-Bowyer is a neurodivergent artist and advocate living and working in Austin, Texas. She was born and
raised in Houston. Their creative practice is rooted in place, memory, and the quiet unraveling that
followed a later-in-life autism diagnosis—an awakening that reshaped how she understands herself,
the world, and the spaces between.

For 18 years, she worked as a special education teacher in public schools, holding space for
students navigating systems not built for them. This work continues to echo through her art,
where education, disability justice, and lived experience intersect. Her practice is both inquiry
and offering—an act of witnessing, resistance, and care.

Through layered narratives and intuitive processes, they explore themes of identity, accessibility,
resilience, and belonging. Her work invites reflection on what it means to be seen, to be heard,
and to exist fully in a world that often misunderstands difference. Art becomes a language
beyond words—a place to rest, question, and reimagine.

Outside the studio, they find grounding in the natural world through hiking and time spent outdoors,
where movement and stillness coexist. They draw nourishment from reading, shared meals, and
cultural exploration. Alongside my artistic practice, she remains deeply engaged in advocacy and
research, using creativity as a bridge between personal truth and collective transformation.