Nomvula Millicent Hoko
Soweto, Gauteng, ZA
NOMVULA MILLICENT HOKO — ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Nomvula Millicent Hoko (b. 1996) is a South African visual artist, printmaker, educator and curator based in Johannesburg. Her multidisciplinary practice explores identity, spirituality, memory, cultural knowledge and the relationship between the physical and spiritual realms. Working primarily through mixed-media printmaking, Hoko combines techniques such as screen printing, paper lithography, stone lithography, linocut, collage, stitching and experimental print processes to create layered works that connect personal experience with broader questions of heritage, belonging and transformation.
Hoko began her artistic journey in 2018 and has since developed a practice that moves between studio production, education, curatorial work and community-based knowledge sharing. Her interest in printmaking is rooted in its physical and repetitive processes of layering, transferring, pressing and imprinting. These processes become a way of thinking about memory, history and embodied experience, while allowing her to explore how stories and cultural knowledge can be carried through material.
Her academic background includes a Diploma in Fine Art from Walter Sisulu University, an Advanced Diploma in Fine and Applied Arts from Tshwane University of Technology, and a BA Honours in Visual Arts at the University of Johannesburg. Her academic and studio research has increasingly focused on isiXhosa ancestral calling, spirituality, dreams, memory, identity and materiality, with particular attention to the possibilities of printmaking as a practice for exploring lived and embodied experience.
In 2026, Hoko expanded her technical practice through a Stone Lithography Residency at Hello Print Studio in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The residency allowed her to develop advanced knowledge of stone lithography, photographic plate lithography, counter-etching and print production while engaging in international printmaking exchange. She is particularly interested in bringing this specialised knowledge back into the South African context through teaching, workshops and skills transfer.
Alongside her studio practice, Hoko is actively involved in arts education and curatorial work. She has worked as an art educator and printmaking tutor and has facilitated workshops focused on printmaking, art business and creative development. She has also curated exhibitions and worked with emerging and established artists and arts platforms. Her curatorial experience includes projects such as Contra Joburg and exhibitions associated with The Printing Girls, Walter Sisulu University and other South African arts institutions.
Hoko has exhibited nationally and internationally, including presentations through Latitudes Online, the National Art Festival, FynArts Hermanus, Gallery 2, The Artroom Gallery and other exhibition platforms. Her 2026 activities include the Portraits of Power exhibition at the Union Buildings, the RMB INDEX 2026 Special Project with Latitudes Online, Contra Joburg and Stellenbosch Woordfees. She has also undertaken commissioned portrait work, including a portrait of former Malawian President Dr Joyce Banda for the Embassy of Malawi as part of the Portraits of Power project.
Through her artistic, educational and curatorial practice, Hoko is committed to creating spaces where African knowledge, contemporary art and cultural storytelling can intersect. Her long-term vision is to contribute to a sustainable South African printmaking ecosystem through the development of a Black-owned gallery and printmaking school that supports artists, preserves specialised printmaking knowledge and creates opportunities for young people.
Nomvula Millicent Hoko (b. 1996) is a South African visual artist, printmaker, educator and curator based in Johannesburg. Her multidisciplinary practice explores identity, spirituality, memory, cultural knowledge and the relationship between the physical and spiritual realms. Working primarily through mixed-media printmaking, Hoko combines techniques such as screen printing, paper lithography, stone lithography, linocut, collage, stitching and experimental print processes to create layered works that connect personal experience with broader questions of heritage, belonging and transformation.
Hoko began her artistic journey in 2018 and has since developed a practice that moves between studio production, education, curatorial work and community-based knowledge sharing. Her interest in printmaking is rooted in its physical and repetitive processes of layering, transferring, pressing and imprinting. These processes become a way of thinking about memory, history and embodied experience, while allowing her to explore how stories and cultural knowledge can be carried through material.
Her academic background includes a Diploma in Fine Art from Walter Sisulu University, an Advanced Diploma in Fine and Applied Arts from Tshwane University of Technology, and a BA Honours in Visual Arts at the University of Johannesburg. Her academic and studio research has increasingly focused on isiXhosa ancestral calling, spirituality, dreams, memory, identity and materiality, with particular attention to the possibilities of printmaking as a practice for exploring lived and embodied experience.
In 2026, Hoko expanded her technical practice through a Stone Lithography Residency at Hello Print Studio in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The residency allowed her to develop advanced knowledge of stone lithography, photographic plate lithography, counter-etching and print production while engaging in international printmaking exchange. She is particularly interested in bringing this specialised knowledge back into the South African context through teaching, workshops and skills transfer.
Alongside her studio practice, Hoko is actively involved in arts education and curatorial work. She has worked as an art educator and printmaking tutor and has facilitated workshops focused on printmaking, art business and creative development. She has also curated exhibitions and worked with emerging and established artists and arts platforms. Her curatorial experience includes projects such as Contra Joburg and exhibitions associated with The Printing Girls, Walter Sisulu University and other South African arts institutions.
Hoko has exhibited nationally and internationally, including presentations through Latitudes Online, the National Art Festival, FynArts Hermanus, Gallery 2, The Artroom Gallery and other exhibition platforms. Her 2026 activities include the Portraits of Power exhibition at the Union Buildings, the RMB INDEX 2026 Special Project with Latitudes Online, Contra Joburg and Stellenbosch Woordfees. She has also undertaken commissioned portrait work, including a portrait of former Malawian President Dr Joyce Banda for the Embassy of Malawi as part of the Portraits of Power project.
Through her artistic, educational and curatorial practice, Hoko is committed to creating spaces where African knowledge, contemporary art and cultural storytelling can intersect. Her long-term vision is to contribute to a sustainable South African printmaking ecosystem through the development of a Black-owned gallery and printmaking school that supports artists, preserves specialised printmaking knowledge and creates opportunities for young people.
Artworks
