_edited_edited.png)
Biography & CV
With a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa (2011), Nkembo Moswala develops a multidisciplinary practice rooted in material experimentation and critical storytelling. His work explores the socio-political and environmental impacts of global capitalism, particularly as they affect the Democratic Republic of Congo.
His evolving practice is anchored in three major bodies of work: Nzoloko, an incision-based technique developed into sculptural light installations; Mayebo, a participatory installation using recycled plastic packaging to reflect on consumer waste and collective responsibility; and Pinda, a drawing series made with coins, interrogating economic systems, value, and memory.
In 2014, he exhibited in public space for the first time at the Yango Biennale in Kinshasa. He later participated in international residencies, including AADK Spain at Centro Negra and Art OMI in New York (2019).
His Mayebo installation was featured in the international exhibition Art Off-Screen in 2020 and presented in Lévis, Quebec, Canada in 2021. His project In the Skin of Isidore Bakanja was selected by the Quebec government under the "Culture et Inclusion" programme, culminating in a solo exhibition at Regart art center in December 2022.
In 2025, Nkembo presented new work at Tate Liverpool as part of a collaboration with the International Slavery Museum, further expanding his engagement with themes of memory, resistance, and postcolonial identity.
Through his distinct visual language, Nkembo Moswala continues to spark dialogue and reflect on the complex entanglements between matter, history, and transformation.
Educations
2006 – 2011 Académie de Beaux-Arts, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo
2000 – 2006 Institut de Beaux-Arts, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo
Residencies
2019 June – July Art OMI, Ghent, New York, USA
2019 February AADK Spain, Centro Negra, Blanca, Murcia, Spain
2014 Master Art 2, Kin Artstudio, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo Groups Shows
2014 OFF Biennale YANGO, Centre Wallonie Bruxelles, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo
2014 Master Art 2, Kin Artstudio, Kinshasa D.R.Congo
Solo Shows
2022 December In the skin of Isidore Bakanja, Centre Regart, Levis, Canada
2021 July - September Mayebo, Parc de la paix, Centre Regart, Levis, Canada
Group Shows
2025 May 'The plant that stowed away' Celebration day, Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, England
2020 Septembre Art Off Screen, Neumeraki, New York, USA
2019 June – July Art OMI, Ghent, New York, USA
2019 February AADK Spain, Centro Negra, Blanca, Murcia, Spain
2014 YANGO Biennial, Centre Wallonie Bruxelle, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo
2014 Master Art 2, Kin Artstudio, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo Groups Shows
Workshops
2016 Comment déveloper un projet artistique convainquant, Goethe Institut, by N’Goné Fall and Virginie Dupray, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo
2014 MasterArt2, KinArtstudio, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo
2013 MasterArt1, KinArtstudio, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo
2012 ARC Play Urban
2008 Studio Malembe Maa CWB, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo
Grants
2022 Culture et inclusion, Québec gouvernement
2019 Mobility fund, Prince Claus Fund, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Press/Media
Journal Le Soleil - Québec
Nkembo Moswala: faire pousser l’espoir | Arts | Le Soleil - Québec
Radio Canada
Œuvres d'art public à Québec et à Lévis | Vidéos | ICI Radio-Canada.ca
Journal de levis
https://www.journaldelevis.com/1068/Art.html?id=81288
La Opinion de Murcia
https://www.laopiniondemurcia.es/cultura-sociedad/2019/02/27/caja-negra-abreblanca/1000219.html
AADK Spain
NKEMBO in residency at Blanca Murcia Spain - YouTube
Art Africa Magazine
Spotlight on the Art of Darkness - Art Africa Magazine
CNN, Kinshasa's trash-to-treasure art
https://edition.cnn.com/videos/international/2014/07/25/spc-inside-africa-kinshasa-art-b.cnn 6:04
2014 DRC art and adaptation, AFP
2009 September Canalsat Magazine, Pge20
Designs
2018 Trophy “Lorenzo Natali Media Prize” European Union, Collaboration with Diakota Mabilama Serge
2015 Brand image “Supreme Hand”, Milton Keynes, England
2014 Brand Image "Young and Bold African", London, England
2014 Trophy “Gospel Day”, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo
2011 Trophy “Okapi Award”, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo
2009 Trophy “Podium Exprimez - Vous” Tigo, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo
2009 Trophy “Festival International de Gospel de Kinshasa”, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo
2008 Trophy “Festival International de Gospel de Kinshasa”, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo