Tatenda Magaisa

Tatenda Magaisa is a Johannesburg based artist, writer, researcher and cultural producer. She received an MA in Fine Art from the University of Witwatersrand. Her work explores themes pertaining to global cultural interaction, Black women in popular culture, as artists and/or practitioners in Africa and the foregone conclusion of surplus labour under a culturally dominated society.

Magaisa works with painting, text, print and video. Drawing strongly on prevalent visual material from popular culture and social media, her research and practice is rooted in an exploration of art practised under irreconcilable conditions. Magaisa works with painting, print, text and video. Rooting source imagery from textual and visual references inspired by the horror, fantasy and science fiction genres in film and literature for use as metaphor or allegory.

Tatenda Magaisa is the 2023 David Koloane Award recipient for the writing edition at Bag Factory Artists’ Studios. Exhibitions and projects include, 'It wearies me; you say it wearies you', a solo exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery (2024), Fahla Fahla!: A public showcase of a collaborative mural led by Hugues Agnès and Camille Gajate, French Institute of South Africa, and ‘Five Bhobh – Painting at the End of an Era’ (2018/2019) at Zeitz MOCAA.