Zaida Oenema (b. 1980) is a Dutch–Finnish artist who lives and works in The Hague, the Netherlands. Oenema studied Nordic Arts and Crafts at Ålands Folkhögskola, Finland; earned a BFA in Photography at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague (2004); and an MFA in Photography at St. Joost School of Art and Design in Breda (2009). Over the past decade, her practice has shifted from photography and video performance to drawing with diverse tools and materials, including graphite and pastel, scalpel and soldering iron, paper and wood.
Oenema exhibits her work regularly at galleries, fairs, and museums in the Netherlands. She has shown with Moving Gallery, Utrecht; Galerie Helder, The Hague; Art on Paper Amsterdam; Art Rotterdam with We Like Art; KunstRAI Amsterdam; Papier Biënnale, Museum Rijswijk; Museum Gorcum; and CODA Museum, Apeldoorn, among others. She has shown widely in Germany, including at Paper Positions Berlin; Kunsthaus Erfurt; Galerie Ursula Walter, Dresden; and Projektraum Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin. In the United States, she has presented solo exhibitions and participated in group shows with Municipal Bonds.
Her work is held in many private and public collections, notably the permanent collection of CODA Museum, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, and VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam. Oenema received a four-year grant (2022–2025) from the Mondriaan Fund for established artists in support of her ongoing practice. She is represented by Municipal Bonds.