5 Things We Learned... Malika Ali Harding

Malika Ali Harding laughs deep from the gut. The sound is varied - a spontaneous and melodic rhythm you find in people with a story worth telling. We met in March at one of my first still-in-COVID hangouts. We chatted about art and travel and food, swapping Amsterdam dos and don’ts like mean girls with hearts of gold. We had coffee and cake. I liked her (and her husband Brian) instantly.

Malika is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans writing, photography, curating, and filmmaking. She earned her BFA from Howard University in Washington, DC, and an MFA from the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles. Based in Amsterdam, she maintains her studio practice and hosts global retreats for visual storytellers with her company Story Rebels.

Here are 5 Things We Learned about Malika.

What made you...you?

Definitely, my family. I’m the first-born in my generation, arriving in the world shortly after my grandmother passed away. All of her children (there were nine) felt I held a strong resemblance to their mother. So growing up, I was treated with tender reverence. Everybody had a hand in raising me. One uncle taught me how to read, another taught me how to be competitive, a third would take me on road trips down south. Down south is what we called Georgia.

When are you happiest?

Now. This present period in my life has been the most joy-filled. I’m at home with myself and head over heels in love with the work I get to make.

Would you rather have a muse or be a muse?

Since I’m an artist, I feel like I should have a muse. But I’ve always wanted to be those women in literature who are completely adored. So, If I’m honest, I’d have to admit that I’d rather be a muse. This idea, though, fits well with the way I work. I tell stories through self-portraiture, so I’m literally my own damn muse!

Who do you admire?

I’m really attracted to stories and beliefs about dangerous women across different cultures. Richard Pryor has a routine about an old man named Mudbone and a priestess of Voudon named Ms. Rudolph, who terrifies Mudbone. In the folklore of northern Morocco, fellas are afraid of the succubus Aicha Kandicha, known to drive men crazy or take their life through seduction. Hall & Oates had a hit in the ’80s called Maneater. I enjoyed humming it as a kid. It’s a song about New York City personified as a femme fatale.

She’ll only come out at night…The woman is wild, a she-cat tamed by the purr of a Jaguar…Oh-oh, here she comes, watch out boy, she’ll chew you up…she’s a maneater.

Recently, I became reacquainted with the Maenads—Greek women who worshipped Dionysus. They were considered master musicians so I’m studying them because I'm beginning to work with sound as therapy. Beyond their skills with instruments, the Maenads were also rumored to be wild and venomous ladies. History has been warning boys about girls for a very long time!

What is important?

Family over everything.