Nelsa Guambe, born in 1987 in Chicuque (Mozambique) is an artist based in Maputo where she lives and work across a range of multidisciplinary fields and collaborations. In 2017 she co-founded DEAL (Design Entertainment Art and Literature). Nelsa Guambe is a self-taught artist who began making art after completing her studies for a Bachelor degree in Public Administration and Development studies from UNISA (University of South Africa) in 2010. Guambe’s interest in photography has led her to find a way of combining her passion for photography and painting into her work. For the past two years she has been mainly painting portraits from photographs of herself, family members and friends.
“I paint from photos I take of myself, family and friends, as well as photos of my parents (from when they were young adults), maybe to immortalize, it’s a way of me re/connecting with that moment, that space, that emotion. I hope the viewer can feel the same”.
Nelsa has held numerous solo and group
exhibitions both at home and abroad. Solo exhibitions include DAQUI e DALI (Nucleo
de Arte, Maputo, 2022), If— (DEAL Galeria, Maputo, 2022), Futurro Carcerrado (Deal
espaco Criativo, Maputo, 2019), Status Quo (Centro Cultural Franco Mocambicano,
Maputo, 2016), and Vozes (Associacao Mocambicanas de Fotografia, Maputo, 2015).
She has also participated in INVESTEC Cape Town Art Fair 2023, FNB Joburg Art
Fair 2022, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair London 2019, Latitude Art Fair, Johannesburg
in 2019, and in the group exhibition Pure Gold: Upcycled /upgraded - a decade
long touring exhibition (Hanoi, Yangon, London, Bangkok, Hamburg, Brasil),
among others.
Selected Press
Leonel Matusse Jr. for Mbenga: Nelsa Guambe dá luz as velas de Chicuque em Cape Town. 2023.
Barnabas Muvhuti for Africanah.org: Nelsa Guambe. 2022.
Atelier55design: Mozambican Artist Nelsa Guambe Merging Art and Sustainable Design. 2017.
