Young SA artist paints Black women’s dream lives on lace ahead of first Paris solo show

South African artist Buqaqawuli Nobakada, known as The Lace Lady, creates acrylic paintings on hand-prepared lace
Nobakada's work centres Black women in spaces of beauty, rest and joy, far removed from narratives of trauma
Her first solo show in France opens at a Paris gallery and runs until December 2026

A post. — A young SA artist. Images: nwe/Instagram
Source: Instagram

A South African artist born in 2000 is turning delicate lace into dreamscapes, and the world is taking notice. Buqaqawuli Nobakada, also known as The Lace Lady, paints acrylic scenes onto hand-prepared lace, allowing the fabric's texture to flow through figures, clothing and imagined interiors in a way that makes each piece feel alive.

Her subjects are Black women, placed at the centre of opulent, peaceful spaces. They dance together, share meals, lounge poolside and simply exist in moments of softness and joy. Nobakada has spoken about her work as a form of personal vision-building, a way of imagining the life she wants to inhabit and making that vision visible to others.

From Wits to Paris

Nobakada studied Fine Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand after initially exploring architecture. She draws on her early years in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, and her practice has grown to include clay elements and gold jewellery accents layered onto her lace canvases.

Her recognition has come quickly. She won the 2023 Latitudes Audience Choice ANNA Award and the Tilga Art Prize, with exhibitions across South Africa, the United States and Europe. Her U.S. debut took place at the Albany Museum of Art, and her work has since appeared in London and Chicago.

Now she is heading to France. Her first solo presentation, Our Dreams Began to Chase Us Back, opens on 19 October 2026 at Galerie Pierre Cornette de Saint Cyr in Paris and runs until 19 December 2026. The show, curated by Destinee Ross-Sutton, brings six new paintings to the French capital.

The world reacts

The post, shared by global Afro culture platform @nwe on their Instagram, gathered nearly 60,000 likes within a day of going up. People in the comments came from all corners, many of them encountering Nobakada's work for the first time.

@sikidlanga noted:

"Buqaqawuli means glory in Xhosa. She lives up to her name!!! She makes us all feel glorious."

@lindi\_xo wrote:

"I truly see her as an important expressionist who portrays Black South African women in the greatest light we have seen thus far. Her paintings make me feel abundant."

@road2culturedom shared:

"First saw her work earlier, literally three days ago at @154artfair London! Photos don't do them justice, so beautiful in real life. Looking forward to the Paris show."

@ardor.in.design agreed:

"Honestly, photos don't even do them justice. Her work is exceptional."

@la.reine\_charlotte added:

"Beautiful, out there making us proud 🇿🇦❤️"

@pfihlani said:

"I need her pieces in my home, thank you for the introduction."

@nanakonamah noted:

"Just saw her work at Somerset House in London. Quite incredible."

Young SA artist paints Black women’s dream lives on lace ahead of first Paris solo show

From Wits to Paris

The world reacts

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