ABOUT ME

“Uzi hupitia mahali sindano hupitiamo - the thread follows the needle.”

I am a fiber artist and educator whose work explores the intersections of Black identity, heritage, and joy through the tactile language of textile and adornment. Rooted in both traditional African practices and contemporary aesthetics, my work centers the lived experiences of Black women, queerness, and cultural resilience.

Drawing from ancestral techniques such as weaving, beading, scarification, and hair braiding, I create modern textile compositions that honor cultural memory while challenging colonial narratives around beauty, utility, and craft. I often work with synthetic hair, natural fibers, and found materials—both for their cultural significance and their ability to hold metaphor. The body, particularly through acts of adornment and self-fashioning, is a recurring site in my work—serving as archive, storyteller, and monument.

Whether through wearable objects, wall hangings, or woven portraits, I aim to foster connections between past and present, between the African diaspora and the continent. My research includes firsthand engagement with communities in Kenya such as the Kisii, learning and documenting their body-based practices. This informs my studio practice and upcoming exhibitions, including my current residency with the Kranzberg Arts Foundation.

As a practicing artist deeply involved in the St. Louis art scene and beyond, I also see teaching as an extension of my creative practice. I am committed to cultivating the next generation of textile artists by sharing knowledge, challenging assumptions, and embracing experimentation—particularly among young makers of color.

Ultimately, my work invites viewers to reflect on how we carry memory in the body, how we assert beauty in resistance, and how craft can be a vessel for both healing and power.

Moraa Nyaribo