Djakou Kassi Nathalie (b. 1975) is a Cameroonian multidisciplinary artist whose practice is anchored in the material poetics of ceramics and wood. Her work interrogates the intertwined notions of function and identity, approaching each object as both a vessel of utility and a site of cultural self articulation. Now based in Lagos, Nigeria, she continues to cultivate a studio practice that began in childhood and matured into professional form in 1998, following six years of formal artistic training.

That same year, she joined the Institut de Formation Artistique in Mbalmayo, Cameroon, the sole art institution in Central Africa, where she served as an instructor and significantly expanded the curriculum through the introduction of the Material Technology course. In 2004, she was appointed ceramist and chief manager of the ceramic studio at the Centre d’Art Appliqué in Mbalmayo, a role that positioned her work within both local and international exhibition circuits. Her leadership extended into the cultural sphere when, in 2011, she was elected vice president of her regional craft association, serving a three year term. In 2013, she founded DECERAM, a ceramic collective through which she executed numerous commissions and fostered collaborative artistic production.

Nathalie’s relocation to Nigeria in 2015 marked a new phase of expansion in her practice. She has since participated in multiple group exhibitions across the country, including Beyond Functions, a duo exhibition with Ato Arinze. Her professional affiliations include membership in the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) since 2015 and active membership in the Sculptors Association of Nigeria (SCAN) beginning in 2020.

Her international engagements reflect a steadily widening artistic presence. She has exhibited in the International Women’s Day show organized by SMO Contemporary Art Gallery at the Wheatbaker Hotel in 2018, Alexis Gallery’s Women’s Day exhibition in 2019, the ninth China Changchun International Ceramic Symposium, Say My Name with Signature African Art Gallery in London in 2020, and Deus Ex Femina with AKKA Project Art Gallery in Dubai in 2021. Her recent engagements include Mitochondria Gallery in Houston in 2025, the Atlanta Art Fair in 2025, SCOPE Miami Beach in 2025, and Untitled Art Houston in 2026.

In December 2023, Nathalie was inducted into the Guild of Professional Fine Artists of Nigeria (GFA), further affirming her standing within the contemporary art landscape. Her oeuvre has attracted sustained academic interest, serving as the subject of scholarly research by students and doctoral candidates across Africa, including Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Egypt, and Poland, as well as in the United States at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her practice continues to resonate as a site of inquiry into materiality, cultural memory, and the evolving language of form.