Tariqa Waters is a contemporary visual artist, gallerist, and educator. Born in Virginia, she was raised with artists in her family and developed an early interest in oil painting. Self-taught, she started working as a muralist while in Sicily where she lived from 2003-2007. Returning to the States, she began creating and showing her own work in Washington DC and Atlanta.

Tariqa relocated to Seattle in 2012. Settling into a space in Pioneer Square, she opened a gallery showcasing underrepresented artists called Martyr Sauce. She started showing her own work as well in group exhibitions and public art installations. Solo shows soon followed which saw her branch out into graphic art and photography. Her solo exhibition, 100% Kanekalon: The Untold Story of the Marginalized Matriarch, exhibited at the Northwest African American Museum. Also an arts educator, Waters is employed as a teaching artist at Seattle Art Museum.