Malaika Temba

Grateful to exhibit my largest work to date next week in Fade at The @studiomuseum in Harlem. Blood, sweat and tears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very honored to work amongst this incredible group of artists, curators, writers and art handlers. First image by Oriana Camara courtesy of @macdowell1907

So proud to share images of “She Weaves White Gold,” my institutional debut at the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh. 2025 was a year of sisal: the plant, the fiber, the economies it built, and, more importantly, the women who move through those systems with power and grace. The center piece, ‘Etched in Soil,’ is a large-scale woven landscape that collages environments and traces the relationship between land, labor and commerce. I’m so grateful to Maya Brooks, Tashae Smith, and the entire NCMA team; and in NY to Eve, Jennie, Tom, JaLeel, Nicolas, and Julia. This installation is the most ambitious work I’ve made to date, and it holds countless hours of research, process, and focused repetitive work 🫶🏽 If you find yourself in Raleigh, please go see it! I promise you’ll feel a WAY. Etched in Soil, 2025 Woven cotton yarn, dye, sisal fiber, acrylic paint 107 × 173 inches Wallpaper: Sisal Glyph I, 2025 Photo Tex aqueous inkjet fabric, Variable dimensions

London has my heart and my wall£t 💘 “Naomiye” at 1-54 with Mindy Solomon Gallery, Art Comes First, incredible performance by Halima, SOMA Soho with Ravista <3, Nigerian Modernism (wow) at the Tate + the inspiring mind of Do Ho Suh, ⚠️, THE BEST painting show (ever): Kerry James Marshall “The Histories”, Sagarika’s “Release” at Alison Jacques Gallery,🫡(had 2), tattoo, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye (period), Big Ben sound on, Riyam <3, anddd Frieze. Until next time 🙂‍↔️

🥰 Preparing Dinner, 2025 Jacquard woven fabric and acrylic paint 61 x 52 in (155 x 132 cm) Soft doesn’t mean weak!

This summer I settled into a new studio space in the Bronx! It’s a light-filled creative base where I’m beginning to draft the next chapter of my practice. Behind me is a sneak peek of “Etched in Soil” from my commission at the @ncartmuseum in Raleigh. I’m looking forward to sharing more about that work (and more) in the coming weeks! ☀️ Photo by @patgarciajr_

It's here and it's beautiful 😍 - @mvtemba 's commissioned piece, "She Weaves White Gold," is being installed this week. Learn about the story behind the work and view the finished installation in our African Gallery this weekend!

While visiting family in Tanzania in 2022, I had the chance to learn how to make paper pulp from the bark of the Msasa “sandpaper” tree. I combined this pulp with my own handwoven textiles, creating a body of small works I titled Fragments. One of those pieces is now on view in “Into the Woods” at @makeroom.la through August 30! I learned this process of making paper pulp through Kiviwama, a community-based organization that conserves the spring that is the water source for 12 villages in the Kilimanjaro region. Kiviwama leads tree-planting and reforestation efforts in deforested areas around Mt. Kilimanjaro, with proceeds helping to fund their conservation work. Check them out at @kiviwama_kilimanjaro and if you’re in LA, please stop by the show! 🥰

This is the final week to view Malaika Temba’s solo exhibition 𝘕𝘪 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘪 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘪 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘪 in Cologne! In this narrative-based body of jacquard woven textiles, Temba incorporates paint, stencils, and embroidery to accentuate specific cultural and historical traditions, as well as the emotional responses these practices elicit across geographies and generations. Ni Hivi Hivi Duniani represents Temba’s first solo exhibition with Gaa, and her inaugural solo presentation in Germany. 📍 Antwerpener Str 4 50672 Cologne, Germany Please email [email protected] for more information. Installation view: (Aunties Patterned Dresses), 2025 Jacquard woven fabric, paint 60 1/2 x 51 1/2 in | 153.5 x 131 cm Image courtesy of Oskar Lee #malaikatemba #nihivihividuniani #gaagallery #gaa

Visit our Cologne gallery this weekend to explore Malaika Temba | 𝘕𝘪 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘪 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘪 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘪 🪡 Temba’s inclusion of words and phrases – both in English and in Swahili – alludes to the language of advertising, infusing wit, puns, and colloquial phrases in her compositions. Repeating motifs, such as cowry shells, shop window vignettes, and market scenes directly reference the vibrant designs of traditional African Kanga fabric. A visual narrative utilizing repetition of text and pattern to convey particular meanings and messages reinforces the theoretical concepts so integral to Temba’s practice. Phrases such as “tastes like salt” may overtly refer to ubiquitous condiments found in a corner store, but more subtly allude to the salty sarcasm so often associated with outspoken women. Through this use of visual and verbal language, Temba reaffirms the ways in which craft and textiles can be galvanized as a means of expression by those so intimately connected to its origins and its legacy. Featuring a new body of jacquard woven textiles, 𝘕𝘪 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘪 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘪 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘪 represents Temba’s first solo exhibition with Gaa, and her inaugural solo presentation in Germany. 📍 Antwerpener Str 4 50672 Cologne, Germany Please email [email protected] for more information. Image: Installation view of Malaika Temba | 𝘕𝘪 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘪 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘪 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘪 Detail view of ‘Tastes Like Salt’ Courtesy Oskar Lee #malaikatemba #nihivihividuniani #gaagallery #gaa

Malaika Temba | 𝘕𝘪 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘪 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘪 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘪 continues in our Cologne gallery 🪡 Photographs from Temba’s travels to Tanzania serve as her source material and place distinct emphasis on the individuals directly involved in the production, harvest, dissemination, and consumption of quotidian goods. Bags of coal appear piled in stacks, ready to be loaded and distributed to their destination, generating power for industrial and domestic purposes. Matriarchs sit atop overturned buckets hand-preparing farm-fresh meat to add to the stew already simmering above the fire. Through direct and indirect references to the human body – fingers, hands, arms, and legs – Temba intentionally prioritizes the physical labor involved in these processes. Featuring a new body of jacquard woven textiles, 𝘕𝘪 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘪 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘪 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘪 represents Temba’s first solo exhibition with Gaa, and her inaugural solo presentation in Germany. 📍 Antwerpener Str 4 50672 Cologne, Germany Please email [email protected] for more information. Image: Installation view of Malaika Temba | 𝘕𝘪 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘪 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘪 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘪 Detail view of ‘Mkadabu’s Pickup Truck’ Courtesy Oskar Lee #malaikatemba #nihivihividuniani #gaagallery #gaa

“My identity is embedded in every thread of my work. By knowing myself, I’m able to speak more clearly—even when I’m not speaking at all. The more I understand my history, the more I feel at ease letting the unknowns guide me too. I create from what I know, and from what might be.” — Malaika Temba 𝗕𝗘𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗦 spotlights rising artists paving their own way in New York City’s art world. Visual artist Malaika Temba (@mvtemba ) brings a textured, global lens to her practice—one deeply rooted in honoring women, femmes, and matriarchal figures across and beyond bloodlines. Born in Washington D.C and raised between Saudi Arabia, Uganda, South Africa, Morocco and the U.S., Temba holds a BFA in Textiles from the Rhode Island School of Design (2018). Her work draws from softness—both in fabric and feeling—to explore labor, lineage, and the quiet strength of generational care. She’s exhibited internationally, with recent shows at Mindy Solomon Gallery (Miami), Lilia Ben Salah Gallery (Paris), and Gaa Gallery (Cologne). In 2021, she received the YoungArts Jorge M. Pérez Award and has held residencies at ART OMI, MASS MoCA, and Silver Art Projects. In her interview with Good Black Art, Malaika reflects on how identity shapes her creative voice, what misconceptions her art helps to challenge, and how she uses her work to move through the world. Tap the link in bio to meet Malaika and the rest of this year’s cohort. Portraits photographed by Dante Maurice (@donteze )  BTS photography by Alverson Layne (alversonlayne)       Captured at The Malin (@themalin )

Such a special day with this amazing group of artists! I’m thrilled to be part of @goodblackart ‘s 𝗕𝗘𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗦 — Cohort 3! This year’s campaign centers on what matters most: knowing yourself and telling your story. Over the coming months, our cohort of NYC-based artists will share reflections on identity, process, and the tools we use to navigate the art world. From moments of fellowship to the truths that shape our work, we hope this campaign helps expand how you see yourself—and your place in the world. Stay tuned as we imagine the future of the arts ecosystem, together. Photographed by Dante Maurice @donteze Captured at @themalin Thank you @goodblackart ! Featuring (Back L to R): Java @001.jav Malaika Temba @mvtemba Jordan Allen @jrdanallen Coco Villa @c0c0villa Marcelline Mandeng @marcellinemandeng Featuring (Front L to R): Oluwaseni Akinyemi @bonzse Kemi Schleicher @kemischle Angela Pilgrim @aplgrm klarita @sacralrise Joseph Edgar @joseph_ffs 🥳