Bio
Malika Ali Harding (she/her) is a lens-based artist and researcher whose projects merge staged photography and memory. Her practice maintains a dialogue with other mediums including sound, performance, video, screenwriting, embroidery, and installation. In her work, she explores African American ancestral myth making and employs deep listening as a tool of identity preservation. Using collective memory as raw material, she stages self-portraits to expand her lineal archive and visually interpret vernacular histories.
Malika has shown in group exhibitions and film festivals in Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Cleveland, as well as online. She has been featured on several podcasts and in publications such as The Quick + The Brave (Paper Zero: Advocates + Allies, 2025). Her residencies include the inaugural “Black Arts. Black Pedagogies. Black Futures.” at Metro54; the Moving Arts Centre Amsterdam's (MACA) space for filmmakers and audiovisual artists; and KORDONair on Hiiumaa island in Estonia. Her work has recently been acquired by The Collaboratory for Black Poiēsis at the University of Toronto, Canada. She served as co-founder and director of the South Los Angeles alternative art space On The Ground Floor.
Malika earned a BFA from Howard University and an MFA from the American Film Institute Conservatory. Born in Cleveland, Ohio (USA), she now lives in The Netherlands where she maintains her studio practice and guides artists and activists in meditation.