Get a glimpse into the creative world of Nimah Gobir (@findingnimah ), our 2025 Flourish Honoree.
Flourish: A Spring Soirée
Friday, May 2 | 7–10 PM @fouroneninesf
Nimah Gobir is an Oakland-based artist and educator whose work explores the complexities of Black identity through painting and installation. Drawing from family and personal archives, she weaves deep meaning into every piece.
Nimah joined Root Division as a Studio Artist from 2018–2019 and received the Blau-Gold Teaching Fellowship. She later supported the organization in roles including Youth Education Instructor, Exhibition Installer, and Board Member. Her work has been featured in Root Division’s Annual Art Auction for five years, the group exhibition Until it Shatters (2020), and TASTE (2020–2021).
Nimah holds a B.F.A. in Studio Art, a B.A. in Peace Studies from Chapman University, and a M.Ed from Harvard with a focus in Arts in Education. She completed a 2020 fellowship with Emerging Arts Professionals SF-Bay Area and has exhibited at the Museum of the African Diaspora, SOMArts, The Growlery, and Root Division. Nimah is represented by Johansson Projects.
We’re honored to recognize her ongoing contributions to the arts ecosystem of the Bay Area.
Secure your spot—presale tickets are now available: 🎟 Tickets >> https://bit.ly/4kGxXTE
Johansson Projects (@Johansson_projects ) is presenting the incredible works of Nimah Gobir (@findingnimah ) at the FOG Design+Art Fair (@fogfair ). Gobir creates mixed-media paintings that explore Black identity and family history, particularly through the lens of their Nigerian-American experience. Using expressive brushwork, hand-stitched embroidery, and household textiles layered onto her canvases, she create intimate domestic portraits that document family memories and relationships. Through her unique combination of painting and textile work, she explore themes of diaspora, belonging, and cultural memory, with a particular focus on how everyday moments - from hair braiding to casual family poses - reflect both personal histories and broader narratives about identity and home.
#NimahGobir
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#FOGDesign+Art
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@johansson_projects presents Nimah Gobir on David Zwirner’s Platform, Jan 6, 8am EST - Feb 5
Platform is an online destination for collecting contemporary art, backed by David Zwirner. Each month, Platform offers a curated selection of around 90 new artworks to buy now from today’s most sought-after contemporary artists, presented in partnership with leading gallery partners across the country.
Video by Jaminh Alcorn (@woozygoldie ), in collaboration with Johansson Projects
#nimahgobir #johanssonprojects #davidzwirner #platform #womenartists #oaklandartists
Nimah Gobir is wrapping up a fruitful residency at Chalk Hill! By transferring family photos on hand-dyed fabric, and hand-sewing onto her pieces, Nimah is intimately involved in her work both physically and emotionally. View what she's been working on at Chalk Hill Residency's upcoming Open Studio on April 4.
"Gobir’s relationship with process is evidently clear. Each thread retraces the steps of childhood, while her brush strokes construct the faces of family members with gleaming familiarity."- Nora Buchanan for The Daily Californian
Nimah Gobir's work explores the nuances of Black identity, drawing upon the thorough-lines between her Nigerian heritage, her childhood in southern California, and her daily life here in Oakland.
Join us this Black History month in celebrating Black artists who are shaping the contemporary arts scene. View work by Nimah Gobir in our gallery Thurs-Sat 1-5pm. And if you're in Oakland come out to Oakland's annual Black Joy Parade, this Sunday, Feb 22!
Photos by @paolina_photos
#nimahgobir #johanssonprojects #blackhistorymonth #bayareaartist #bayareaartgallery #oaklandartist
Art studio sublet available ✨
Looking for someone to sublet half of a 883 sq. ft. studio in downtown Oakland for 6 months.
* ~ $350/month
* Safe, accessible building
* HVAC + temperature controlled
* Access to sink
* Close to major bus lines + BART
* Optional parking spot available for an additional fee
DM me for a walkthrough!
Spread the word!
By incorporating personal photographs into her painted interiors, Nimah Gobir's work interrogates the nature of portraiture, memory, and nostalgia through intimate representations of family life. This mixed-media work collapses time and space, leaving the viewer in a kaleidoscope of memories that diffuse into the present moment.
See Nimah's new painting "Fat Cheeks," on view at the gallery for Black History Month. We'll be open for extended hours today, from 1-8pm, for Oakland Art Murmur. See you there!
"Fat Cheeks," Oil and photo transfer on canvas, 42" x 38"
#nimahgobir #johanssonprojects #oaklandartmurmur #blackhistorymonth #bayareaartist #bayareaartgallery #oaklandartist
What a whirlwind of a weekend. Awaiting my flight back to Michigan, I had a hot minute to look at some faves from today's shoot. If this is how 2026 has started I can't wait for what's in store for the rest of the year. So much fun to bring out the inner child and spend time with some great humans.
Nimah Gobir was featured in an article written by Janis Hashe in the East Bay Express about Nimah receiving the Eureka Fellowship, an unrestricted grant of $40,000 to 12 Bay Area artists.
"The award will allow her necessary space for experimentation and process, she said, adding, “I am planning for more time to work on art.” She’s fascinated by the power and mutability of memory, particularly as it exists in families. Something that happened in the past “can seem like it happened to you,” she said. She uses the boxes and boxes of photos her family took, primarily during the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, sometimes of just her parents, sometimes of her and her sister, and sorts them into piles as she considers her artworks. "—Janis Hashe
#nimahgobir #johanssonprojects #eurekafellowship #fleishhackerfoundation #eastbayexpress #oaklandartists #bayareaartgallery #contemporaryblackartists
Nimah Gobir's solo show "Better Dey Come" has been extended through this weekend! It features sculptural work from her residency at Recology San Francisco. During this residency she says she was searching for "evidence of Blackness", and decided to create the evidence she was looking for through reclaiming discarded items during the residency.
Last chance to view "Better Dey Come" during our open gallery hours, Thurs - Sat, 1 -5pm.
#nimahgobir #johanssonprojects #recologysanfrancisco #contemporaryblackart #oaklandartists #bayareaartgallery
Two more days left of Nimah Gobir's solo show "Better Dey Come" ! Compounding personal photographs from the 1980s and 90s into her painted interiors, Nimah Gobir's work interrogates the nature of portraiture, memory, and nostalgia through intimate representations of family life. Gobir explores these thorough lines across generations, finding resonance among her current daily rituals, childhood, and family’s past: braiding hair, sitting for a meal, washing dishes, posing for a group picture.
The show will be up in our main gallery until this Saturday, October 18!
#nimahgobir #johanssonprojects #contemporaryart #oilpainting #textileart #bayareaartgallery #contemporaryblackartists #oaklandartist
"In this collection, Gobir’s relationship with process is evidently clear. Each thread retraces the steps of childhood, while her brush strokes construct the faces of family members with gleaming familiarity. Careful reflection on her own youth is painted with clarity, while tender appreciation is shown for those who have shaped it." — Nora Buchanan for the Daily Californian
Read more of the article at the link in our bio.
Nimah Gobir's solo exhibition, "Better Dey Come" will be on view at Johansson Projects until October 18.
Detail pictured: "A-OK", Oil paint, photo transfer, fabric and embroidery thread on canvas, 36" x 48".
#nimahgobir #betterdeycome #johanssonprojects #dailycalifornian #oaklandartist #galleryexhibition #contemporaryart #embroidery #mixedmedia #artistpress
