MALENE DJENABA BARNETT
Lives & Works in Brooklyn, NY
EDUCATION
2022 MFA Ceramics, Tyler School of Art & Architecture, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
1996 Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA), Summa Cum Laude, Textile Surface Design, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY
1994 Associate in Applied Science, AAS, Fashion Illustration, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY
AWARDS
2024 Nellie Mae Rowe Distinguished Fellowship
2024 Helen Zucker Seeman Curatorial Fellowship Grant
2022-23 Fulbright Jamaica, Visiting Artist, Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts
2022 CAA Honorable Mention
2021 Zenobia Award, Watershed Ceramics
2020 NCECA Graduate Fellowship
2020 Future Faculty Fellowship, Temple University
2019 Designer of the Year, Interiors+Sources Magazine
2019 Design Changemaker-Apartment Therapy
2019 RADD (Real Estate, Art, Design & Development)Award, Brownstoner Magazine
2019 NCECA Multicultural Fellowship
RESIDENCIES
2024 Hambidge Center for Creative Arts, Rabun Gap, GA
2024 Oya Studio, Rabun Gap, GA
2022 Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Deer Isle, ME
2021 Watershed Ceramics, Newcastle, ME
2021 Judson Studios, Los Angeles, CA
2021 Anderson Ranch, SnowMass Village, CO
2019 Africa Crafts Travel, Ghana, West Africa hosted by NCECA Honorary member Winnie Owens Hart
2018 Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY
2018 Sculpt Italy, Pietrasanta, Italy
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Kingston Biennial, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kinsgston, Jamaica
2024 Smithsonian Design Triennial, Cooper Hewitt, New York, NY
2024 Liberatory Living: Protective Interiors & Radical Black Joy, Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco
2024 Structural Play, SugarHill Storytelling Museum, New York, NY
2023 Design Miami, Miami, FL
2023 Neo-Custondians: Woven Narratives of Heritage, Culture Memory and Belonging, Bemis Center, Omaha, NE
2023 Note to Self, Christie’s London, London, England
2022 What’s Left Behind, Clay Studio Philadelphia, PA
2022 Saratoga Clay Center, Saratoga, NY
2022 We Called Her Mom, Temple Contemporary, Philadelphia, PA
2022 Clever Was A Snare, Philadelphia, PA
2022 Universe Within, Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, FL
2021 Baltimore Clay Works, Baltimore, MD
2021 NCECA Multicultural Fellowship Exhibition, DAAP Galleries, Cincinnati, OH (Juried)
2021 Small Favors, Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2021 Temple Contemporary, Philadelphia, PA
2021 Crafted Identities, Cullis Wade Depot Art Gallery, Mississippi State, MS
2020 Design Miami, Miami, Florida
2020 Black Creativity -Museum of Science + Industry, Chicago, Illinois (Juried)
2020 Ceramics Now, Jane Hartsook Gallery, New York, New York
2020 Biennale, Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2019 Deeper Than Text, 1st Dibs, New York, NY
2019 Beyond the Mask, Plant Seven, High Point, North Carolina
2019 Texas Contemporary, George Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas
2019 Crafting A Legacy, Neuehouse, New York, New York
2017 Handmade Week, Dongdoeman Design Plaza, Seoul, South Korea
2013-15 Boutique Design, Jacob Javits Center, New York, New York
2010-15 International Contemporary Furniture Fair, Jacob Javits Center, New York, New York
SELECTED LECTURES & TALKS
2024 Clay Roots: Ceramics from the African diaspora, Podcast Host
2024 NCECA “Clay in the Caribbean”, Richmond, VA
2023 Edna Manley School of Visual And Performing Arts, Guest Speaker, Kingston, Jamaica
2022 Museum of Design Atlanta, “The Black Experience in Design”
2021 American Craft Council “ The Future of the Creative Economy”
2021The African Center “Remembering Our Past in Our Present”
2021 Rhode Island School of Design
2021 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA)- Artist Lecture “ Grounded & Free”, Cincinnati, OH
2020 Greenwich House Pottery, Artist Lecture “Connecting with the Ancestors”, New York, New York
2019 Art Africa Miami, Panel Discussion “Beyond Representation: Trailblazing A Creative Path”, Miami, Florida
2019 Affordable Art Fair, Panel Discussion, “Defining Culture & Process”, New York, New York
2019 Neuehouse, Panel Discussion, “ Crafting a Legacy”, New York, New York
2019 New York School of Interior Design, Moderator, “More than a Pretty Space”, New York, New York
2019 Richmond Craft + Design, Featured Speaker “Craft the Forgotten Art”, Richmond, VA
2019 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), Panel Discussion, “ Women in Design”, Las Vegas, Nevada
2019 92nd ST Y, Panel Discussion, ” Entrepreneurial Spirit of Design”, New York, New York
2018 92nd ST Y, Panel Discussion, ”Women in Design”, New York, New York
2018 Society of Illustrators, Moderator, “How to turn your idea into a Product”, New York, New York
2018 International Contemporary Furniture Fair, Panel Discussion, “The Impact of the Internet on the Interior Design Profession”, New York, New York
2017 United Nations, Panel Discussion, “Leveling the Playing Field for Women” , New York, New York
2017 Caribbean Start Up Summit, Keynote Speaker, “ The Power of Social Media, Bridgetown, Barbados
2017 International Interior Design Association (IIDA), Panel Discussion, “ How to shatter the Glass Ceiling in the Design Industry”, New York, NY
2015 Texas A&M University, “Diversity & Inclusion”, New York, New York
2012 Goldman Sachs 10K SB/Tory Burch Foundation, Panel Discussion, “Women in Business”, New York, New York
2011 University of the West Indies, Artist Lecture, Keynote, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago
2011 Design Caribbean, Artist Lecture, “The Business of Design”, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
2011 Wood Tobe Coburn Fashion School, Instructor, New York, New York
2010 TEDX Talk, “Trusting my Gut”, Stamford, Connecticut
SELECTED ARTICLES, PUBLICATIONS & TV APPEARANCES
2025 Luxe Interiors + Design, January/February
2025 American Craft Council, January
2024 New York Times, December
2024 Galerie Magazine, December
2024 Living Etc. May
2024 Wallpaper Magazine, December
2023 CVM TV Jamaica, June
2023 Architectural Digest Magazine, April
2022 Hospitality Design Magazine, December
2022 Brownstoner Magazine, May
2021 House Beautiful, February
2020 New York Times, September
2020 Galerie Magazine
2020 Departures Magazine, August
2019 Interior + Resources, Cover, “Malene Barnett Stays Creative Through Art & Design”, July
2019 Elle Decor, “ Creative Force”, April
2019 Brownstoner Magazine, Cover story, “Malene Barnett Boosts Design”, Spring/Summer
2019 Home Furnishing News Magazine, “Inspiring Women”, December
2019 Interior Lives with Wendy Goodman, June
2019 Traditional Home, “Crafting New Diversity”, August
2019 Interior Design Magazine, “Women Shaping the Future of Design”, May
2019 The Cut “Meet Malene Barnett and the Black Artists & Designers Guild”, March
2019 Architectural Digest, “Malene Barnett Explores a New Medium to Inspire Creativity”, December
2018 Ceramic Monthly “Artists in Resident”
2018 African Voices Magazine-Cover art, Ms. P, Summer/Fall
2018 House Beautiful, The Search for Your Forever Rug”, September
2018 Domino Magazine “A Caribbean Cool Brownstone”. September
2017 Brooklyn Magazine “Work From Home” August
2016 Maco Caribbean Living, “Her Magic Carpet Ride”, Volume 18, Issue 1
2016 Ebony Magazine “Success by Design”, August
2014 New York Spaces Magazine, “Artist Profile”, September
2014 Luxe Magazine, “StyleMaker”, Spring
2013 New York Magazine “My Favorite Things”, September
2013 Morning Joe, “Goldman Sachs 10KSB/Tory Burch Foundation”, May
2013 MSNBC Your Business, “Women in Business”, May
2011 House Beautiful “Rug Water”, July/August
2011 HGTV Magazine, “The Rug designer in her living room”, May
2010 Hospitality Design “Global Beauty”, September
2011 Nate Berkus Show, “House Proud”, December
2009 Interior Design Magazine, “World Traveler”, July
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
2024 Crafted Kinship, Author, Artisan Books
2022 Black Experience in Design
2018 Hygge & West Home-Design for Cozy Living, Aimee Lagos, Christiana Coop
2016 In The Company of Women, Grace Bonney
2013 Remix, Jeanine & Bryan Hays
2010 Global Africa Project, Museum of Art & Design
COLLABORATIONS & SPECIAL PROJECTS
2024 Ruggable
2021 Lulu & Georgia, Licensed Wallpaper, Worldwide
2021 Samsung Frame TV Campaign
2017 Kravet Inc, Licensed carpet collections, Worldwide
2017 Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Campaign for Brooklyn Community Service, Brooklyn, New York
2017 Swell Bottle, Brooklyn Design Studio Tour, Spring Catalog, Worldwide
2015 Surya, Licensed rug collection, Worldwide