Born in Johannesburg to Congolese parents, Ndaya Ilunga, 29, began her artistic journey in her mother’s studio at the Bag Factory. She explored painting, sculpture and storytelling from a young age, later studying Fine Arts at the University of Johannesburg. In her third year, she was awarded a German Archdiocese exposure trip to Stuttgart, where she deepened her interest in surrealist and Renaissance art. Ilunga’s work is rooted in her exploration of a displaced refugee identity, merging Afrofuturist and surrealist elements into a unique visual language. She completed an Ampersand Foundation residency in Manhattan, New York, and interned at the Goodman Gallery, where her interest in the collective consciousness, blackness and the human condition evolved.

She has exhibited at the UJ Art Gallery, The Viewing Room Art Gallery and Art & About. She was a finalist for the 2024 Nando’s Vusa Awards and participated in the RMB Talent Unlocked programme. She was awarded the 2024/2025 Bag Factory Young Womxn Studio Bursary supported by South African artist Sam Nlengethwa and has a studio at the Bag Factory in Fordsburg.