Elena Benavides is a multi-media artist who lives in San Antonio, Texas. She is expected to receive her Bachelors of Fine Arts and Bachelors of Art History and Criticism from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) in Spring of 2026. While she specializes in painting, she incorporates creative avenues for light and shadow to interact with her work. This allows her to explore ideas of emotion and the complexities of human connection in relation to the natural environment. 

Throughout her youth she traveled to different states and lived in Italy for two months after her high school graduation. This sparked her deep passion for the way people develop individually and intertwined with the growth of their physical environments. This inspires her to ground herself within the culture and environments with which she lives. At UTSA she has contributed to the arts program by designing the 2025-2026 parking permit pass and was a performing artist at a concert including artists and violinists in 2025. Benavides interned with local San Antonio online publication, Viva Arte, which provided opportunity to write about local exhibitions and provide stronger connections to her work through research in how individuals approach identity within their art. She has exhibited her work at Contemporary at Blue Star and the San Antonio Art League Museum.