About
kyle malanda (b. 1994) is a Malaŵian visual artist whose work explores identity at the intersections of sexuality, indigenous spirituality, and mortality. Her struggle with identity manifests through depictions of Black faceless feminine figures, depersonalising and anonymising her subjects. Using motifs rooted in Ngonde ontology and the realm of lucid dreams, kyle’s photographic and textile works are an invitation into her surrealist world, where truth stretches beyond what the eye can see.
kyle is a 2022 Prince Claus Seed Awardee and 2025 Pro Helvetia Artist in Residence. Her works have been exhibited in Africa, the US, and Europe. she co-founded and co-curated RETROSPECT— a retrospective exhibition exclusively for queer African artists.
Residencies & Fellowships
2025: Pro Helvetia (Swiss Arts Council, Johannesburg Office) Residency. Switzerland
2024: Acasa La Hundorf Residency. Romania
2020: Institute for Creative Arts Fellowship at University of Cape Town. South Africa
2019: ColabNowNow Artist Residency. British Council. South Africa & Mozambique
2019: Saba Artist Residency. Saba Furniture Company, Kenya
Awards & Grants
2022: Prince Claus Seed Award
2020: Prince Claus In Motion Grant
Curatorial Work
2021: RETROSPECT: Queerantine. Virtual.
Select Exhibitions
2024: Pauza. Bastionul Tăbăcarilor. Targu Mureș. Romania.
2022: TORRENTS: New Links to Black Futures. Cultural DC. Washington D.C., US
2021: Disembodied Territories. London School of Economics. London, UK
2020: Physical Chaos, Digital Calm. Accra, Ghana
2020: ICA Fellowship. Institute for Creative Arts at University of Cape Town. Cape Town, South Africa
2020: The Black Woman Is God. San Francisco, US
2020: New Art City. Abuja Art Week. Abuja, Nigeria
2020: The Space Between History and Hope. San Joaquin Delta College. Stockton, CA, US
2020: Unbound Roots. SOMArts & Culture Center. San Francisco, CA, US
2019: TRACES & SPACES. Maputo Fast Forward Festival. Maputo, Mozambique
2019: Montage. Saba Studios. Lamu, Kenya
2018: Elemental. Ashara Ekundayo Gallery. Oakland, CA US
Media & Publications
2020: Kulela Strikes Chord with Black Lives. The Nation Malawi
2019: This Country's Women | Three Poems by kyle malanda. Brittle Paper
2019: "Lessons from My Father". Night Issue. Abantu, Our Zine
2018: Self-taught Malawian Photographer Grapples with Ancestry in New Photo Series. Design Indaba
Education
Wheaton College, MA. BA. Class of 2017
Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong. IB. Class of 2013.