Thembeka Heidi Sincuba began their arts education at Michaelis School of Fine Art in Cape Town, 2005, earning a BFA from Artez Academy of Art in Arnhem, Netherlands, in 2010 and an MFA from Goldsmiths University of London in 2014. Sincuba has served as an art and culture writer, contributor and/or editor at various publications including Art in Context, Mail & Guardian, Chimurenga, Bubblegum Club, ARAK Collection and Africa South Art Initiative (ASAI). They were the Head of Painting at Rhodes University from 2017 to 2019, and during this time, they also taught a course on spirituality in art as a Guest Lecturer at the University of Cape Town. 

 

Sincuba is vice chair on the board of SWEAT (Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce), serving since January 2019. In 2021, they were the Artist in Residence at the Nordic Arts Association in Stockholm, where they collaborated with renowned South African painter Lefifi Tladi on Spirits in Exile, exploring Afro Abstraction and its connection to African spirituality. From 2022 to 2024, Sincuba was Editor of BubblegumClub. Sincuba’s most recent exhibitions include Ubuhle Bemvelo, a solo at Galerie 23 in Amsterdam in October 2023, a group show, The New Vanguards at Berman Contemporary in April 2024 and the most recent solo, Umngqwambo at AVA in Cape Town, a satirical exploration of the binary between African tradition and global innovation. 

Since 2024, Sincuba has been a sessional lecturer at Wits University in Johannesburg. As of 2025, Sincuba is the conceptual lead of Glitching the Future, a Creative Industries NL-funded research project with ZAM Magazine and BubblegumClub, exploring decolonised tech narratives through African Futurisms and Feminisms, with collaborators including Dr Kholeka Shange, Amogelang Maledu, Khanya Mashabela, Maneo Mohale and Aluta Null.