Joseph Maldonado was born in Dallas, Tx. He began his prolific doodling career upon different surfaces around town while attending high school. He is an American artist and independent curator. In 2015, Joseph moved to Kansas City, MO to attend the Kansas City Art Institute where he studied both illustration and Art History. Joseph received the Carnegie Mellon Curatorial Fellowship in July of 2016. The fellowship consisted of workshops, tours, group collaborations, individual projects and discussions. It was here that Joseph developed a firm understanding of curatorial practices through co-curating exhibitions, some responsibilities included design for exhibit floors and installation of artwork. In 2016, Joseph completed an outdoor mural for Whittier Elementary in the Kansas City metroplex. Wrapping up his education in Kansas City, Joseph transferred to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2019 where he currently lives and attends the Institute of American Indian Arts.