Born in Willowmore (1988 - ), lives in Pretoria and works in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Mellaney Roberts is a ceramic artist, academic, and educator whose practice explores material memory, land-based narratives, and intergenerational histories within marginalised communities. Rooted in the physical and emotional landscapes of the Eastern Cape, her work reflects on how memory, silence, and absence are inscribed within both body and land. Through clay, glass, and metal, Mellaney constructs delicate yet powerful forms that act as vessels of remembrance and sites where personal and collective histories intersect.
Mellaney holds a Master of Fine Art (Cum Laude) in Ceramics from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (2017), where she also completed her BTech and National Diploma in Fine Arts. She lectures in Fine and Applied Arts at Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, and is engaged in decolonial and community-based teaching methodologies.
Her works have been exhibited widely, including Waar bloed nie loop nie…? (2025, Berman Contemporary), The 2020s: New Forms of Abstraction – Part 2 (2023, Berman Contemporary), Ceramic Brussels (2024), and the Investec Cape Town Art Fair (2024). She participated in the Nando’s Creative Exchange Programme (2023) and has participated in numerous public and national art exhibitions. Mellaney’s work is represented in public and private collections, including Art Bank of South Africa, Corobrik Collection, and the University of Pretoria. Among her recognitions are the 2024 Certificate of Artistic Merit from La Pinacothèque Museum of Luxembourg, a Top 21 finalist position in the 2024 Henrike Grohs Art Award, and the Nina Hole Memorial Residency at Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center, Denmark. Mellaney is represented by Berman Contemporary, Johannesburg.
