Ato Malinda’s works consist of performance, drawing, painting, installation, video, and ceramic object-making. Through her diverse practice, the artist investigates the hybrid nature of African identity, contesting notions of authenticity. Malinda has worked with western museums to dispel notions of a Unitarian Africa, so often seen in ethnographic exhibitions. With an additional thematic focus on gender and sexuality, Malinda is inspired by LGBTQ communities whose stories are rarely told.

Malinda holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from Transart Institute, New York. She was one of the awardees of the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship (2015) and won the One Minutes Award (2012) for moving photography, as well as the Smithsonian African Artist Award (2016). Solo shows include Games at Savvy Contemporary, Germany (2013); and Incommensurable Identities at Aarhus Art Building, Denmark (2011). Malinda has exhibited in group exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum, USA (2016); the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark (2015); the Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt am Main, Germany (2014); and the Salon Urbain de Douala, Cameroon (2010).