Malene Barnett / Black Artists + Designers Guild
Leaders & Founders · Americas“Malene Barnett founded the Black Artists + Designers Guild in 2018, building a global platform and community for independent Black makers that's become genuine industry infrastructure.”
Why Malene Barnett / Black Artists + Designers Guild is in the Design 100
Malene Barnett built her practice long before BADG existed. For close to a decade, her Brooklyn studio, Malene B, produced bespoke textiles, rugs and ceramics for clients including Marriott, Viacom and Saks — work rooted in the materials and traditions of the African diaspora and grounded in a working artist’s understanding of craft, not a marketer’s.
BADG began as a direct answer to an absence. In late 2018, after watching yet another industry panel on the future of design proceed without a single Black practitioner on it, Barnett decided public frustration wasn’t enough and founded the Black Artists + Designers Guild — a member-driven platform connecting Black artists, designers and makers across architecture, textiles, ceramics and furniture. It has since grown into one of the design industry’s clearest examples of community-built infrastructure, with a searchable talent directory, member programming and a standing seat in conversations about who the profession includes.