Malik Gaines

Malik Gaines is a writer and performer based in Los Angeles. Gaines performs with the group My Barbarian, which has presented experimental musicals in theaters and art institutions internationally, at venues including the REDCAT and the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Participant, Inc., New York; De Appel, Amsterdam; The Power Plant, Toronto; Peres Projects, Berlin; El Matadero, Madrid; and the Aspen Art Museum, Aspen. My Barbarian was included in the 2005 Performa Biennial, the 2006 California Biennial, and the 2007 Montréal Biennale, and will participate in the 2007 Performa Biennial with a performance at the Whitney Museum, New York. Gaines has written arts journalism and criticism for numerous publications and exhibition catalogues, and has taught courses at CalArts, UC Irvine, California College of the Arts, and others. Gaines received a BA in History from UCLA (1996) and an MFA in Writing from CalArts’ School of Critical Studies (1999) and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Theater and Performance Studies at UCLA, which he expects to complete in 2010.