Timika Sukhai

Timika Sukhai is a South African–born writer, and curator whose practice engages critically with archival histories, Indigenous knowledge systems, and creative storytelling. She holds a Master of Arts in English and History from the University of Dundee, where her academic work developed a strong focus on postcolonial narratives, displacement, and the politics of memory.

Working across research, experimental writing, and curatorial practice, Timika interrogates how colonial archives have shaped, and often distorted, representations of Indigenous and marginalized communities. She approaches the archive as a living, contested space, employing creative and critical methodologies to challenge dominant historical frameworks while foregrounding resilience, continuity, and lived experience. Central to her work is an ethics of care, advocacy, and community-led engagement.

Alongside her independent practice, she works as a freelance curator, project coordinator, researcher, and mentor, collaborating with artists, cultural organisations, and community-led initiatives across exhibitions, public programmes, and creative projects. Through one-to-one mentoring, she supports emerging artists with portfolio development, career strategy, exhibition preparation, and navigating opportunities within the contemporary art sector.

As an art writer for Contemporary Lynx, an Eastern European arts magazine, she contributes critical perspectives on contemporary art, exhibitions, and cultural production.

Her professional experience includes working with the University of Dundee's Archive and Museum Services, where she supported collections care, interpretation, and public engagement. This experience further strengthened her commitment to ethical representation, inclusive storytelling, and creating meaningful connections between art, history, and diverse audiences.

Her ongoing body of work, Beyond Barbarians, explores the language of empire and its enduring impact on Indigenous identity, land, and belonging. The project spans hybrid writing, curatorial workshops, and exhibition-making, creating dialogic spaces between historical material and contemporary interpretation.

Through exhibitions, research, and collaborative initiatives, she aims to reframe historical narratives, amplify marginalized voices, and position storytelling as an act of cultural reclamation and resistance. Long-term, she seeks to curate interdisciplinary spaces, both physical and digital, that prioritize lived experience, community knowledge, and creative expression, while contributing to the reimagining of contemporary art institutions across Africa and beyond.