Malik Gaines

Malik Gaines
Born1973 (age 52–53)
Occupations
  • Performance artist
  • writer
  • professor
FatherCharles Gaines
Academic background
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles (BA, PhD)
California Institute of the Arts (MFA)
Doctoral advisorSue-Ellen Case

Malik Gaines (born 1973) is an American artist, writer, and professor. He is one of three members of the artist collective My Barbarian, the group formed in 2000 and includes Jade Gordon and Alexandro Segade as they perform musical, theatrical and critical techniques to act out social difficulties. They have exhibited internationally, including at the Whitney Museum, New York in 2021. Gaines's practice includes events and exhibitions, music composition, video work, scholarly research and collaboration. He is the author of the book Black Performance on the Outskirts of the Left: A History of the Impossible (2017, NYU Press) and is the co-artistic director of The Industry opera company in Los Angeles.