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Joyful, energetically charged art for unapologetic idealists
Ma Kalulu Studio is the creative home of American/Portuguese interdisciplinary artist Kristen Palana. The studio offers fine art prints, meaningful gifts, and original mixed-media artwork designed to uplift, rejuvenate, and inspire. Each piece is infused with love, positive energy, and intention—ideal for personal spaces, sacred corners, or thoughtful gifting. Custom orders and commissions are also available for those seeking one-of-a-kind visual keepsakes.
What is a “Kalulu,” you ask? It’s the Chichewa word for rabbit in Malawi, where Kristen lived with her humanitarian husband, two sons, and two spoiled Myanmar street cats from 2019 to 2024. In many cultures, rabbits symbolize abundance, creativity, rebirth, and luck.
Kristen’s mixed-media work draws from her experiences living and working across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. After nearly a decade in Malawi and Myanmar, she recently returned to Italy, where she now lives and works.
Her symbolic, pattern-rich drawings are inspired by global traditions, ancient symbols, sacred geometry, and a love of color psychology. Infused with rustic textures and ancestral patterns, her work aims to soothe and reinvigorate weary (yet unapologetic!) idealists—offering a call to action to envision better outcomes for our personal lives, communities, and the planet. Increasingly, her art explores interactive, collaborative, and multi-sensory formats—bridging handmade techniques with digital innovation to create immersive experiences and healing tools.
As an educator, Kristen has taught at universities and NGOs on four continents. She co-founded the Digital Media track of the Communication and Digital Media Program at The American University of Rome, where she earned tenure in 2009 and later led the Film and Digital Media Program. From 2016 to 2024, she expanded her teaching and consulting to institutions and international agencies across Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, including the American University of Myanmar, Thalun International School, WHO, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, GIZ, the British High Commission Malawi, the Australian High Commission Malawi, and UNFPA.
When not making fine art, she continues to work as an educator and creative consultant, delivering in-person, hybrid, and online courses for students around the world. Her learners have included refugees, diplomats, creative professionals, and individuals living on less than $2 a day—underscoring her commitment to inclusion and empowerment.
Kristen’s current art practice evolved from a long career in digital media and animation. Her award-winning short films have screened at over 75 international festivals, including Cannes Short Film Festival, Italy International Film Festival, and Sunscreen Film Festival. In 2021, she shifted focus—returning to her fine art roots and creating handmade work that invites stillness, reflection, and intentionality.
Kristen began her creative journey as a teenager wanting to make art that healed. After years of wearing many hats—professor, animator, designer, and communication consultant—she’s come full circle to that early vision. Today, her drawings offer what she calls “impossible gifts”: strength, clarity, peace, abundance, protection—things you can’t buy in a store, but can offer others through intentional, energy-infused art.