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{{Userspace draft|source=ArticleWizard|date=June 2021}}
{{Userspace draft|source=ArticleWizard|date=June 2021}}
{{short description|Congolese artist}}
{{short description|Congolese artist}}
{{Infobox person

| name = Bill Kouélany
⚫
'''Bill Kouélany''' (born 31 October 1965 in Brazzaville) is a Congolese artist, writer and set designer. In 2007, she participated in ''documenta 12'' in [[Kassel]] with a multimedia art installation. She lives in [[Brazzaville]], [[Republic of the Congo]].
| image =
| caption =
| othername =
| birth_name = B. Kouélany
| birth_date = 31 October 1965
| birth_place = [[Brazzaville]], [[Republic of the Congo]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| burial_place =
| nationality = Congolese
| occupation = artist, writer, set designer
}}
⚫
'''Bill Kouélany''' (born 31 October 1965 in Brazzaville) is a Congolese artist, writer and set designer. In 2007, she participated in ''documenta 12'' in [[Kassel]] with a multimedia art installation. She lives in [[Brazzaville]], the capital of the [[Republic of the Congo]].


== Life and career ==
== Life and career ==
As a teenager, '''B.''' '''Kouélany''' (as she prefers to be called), living in the Republic of the Congo, witnessed wars and violence. Years later the imprints of those early years can be found in her writings and art.<ref name=":0" />
As a teenager, '''B.''' '''Kouélany''' (as she prefers to be called) lived through the wars and violence in her native Congo. Years later the imprints of those early experiences can be found in her writings and art.<ref name=":0" />


=== Writer ===
=== Writer ===
Her early writings include plays such as ''Cafard, cafarde'', which she read in Paris (2003), and ''Peut-être'' (2007), which she created in collaboration with Jean-Paul Delore. Her written pieces are greatly influenced by the works of [[Republic of Congo|Congolese]] poet and novelist [[Tchicaya U Tam'si|Tchicaya U Tam’si]], who was "a tormented and highly sensitive writer who [B. Kouélany] also featured in her first canvases."
A French speaker, her early writings include plays such as ''Cafard, cafarde (Cockroach, cockroach)'', which she read in Paris (2003), and ''Peut-être (Perhaps)'' (2007), which she created in collaboration with Jean-Paul Delore. Her written pieces are greatly influenced by the works of notable [[Republic of Congo|Congolese]] poet and novelist [[Tchicaya U Tam'si|Tchicaya U Tam’si]], who was "a tormented and highly sensitive writer who [B. Kouélany] also featured in her first canvases."


According to Chavelet, many of her writings have never been published (as of 2016).<ref name=":3">Chavelet , D. (2016). The text in the body: Dieudonné Niangouna and Bill Kouélany: from writing to performance. ''Po & sie'' , 3 (3-4), 247-257. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.3917/poesi.157.0247</nowiki> (in French)</ref>
According to Chavelet, many of her writings have never been published (as of 2016).<ref name=":3">Chavelet , D. (2016). The text in the body: Dieudonné Niangouna and Bill Kouélany: from writing to performance. ''Po & sie'' , 3 (3-4), 247-257. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.3917/poesi.157.0247</nowiki> (in French)</ref>

Revision as of 13:37, 7 June 2021

Bill Kouélany
Born
B. Kouélany

31 October 1965
Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
NationalityCongolese
Occupation(s)artist, writer, set designer

Bill Kouélany (born 31 October 1965 in Brazzaville) is a Congolese artist, writer and set designer. In 2007, she participated in documenta 12 in Kassel with a multimedia art installation. She lives in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo.

Life and career

As a teenager, B. Kouélany (as she prefers to be called) lived through the wars and violence in her native Congo. Years later the imprints of those early experiences can be found in her writings and art.[1]

Writer

A French speaker, her early writings include plays such as Cafard, cafarde (Cockroach, cockroach), which she read in Paris (2003), and Peut-être (Perhaps) (2007), which she created in collaboration with Jean-Paul Delore. Her written pieces are greatly influenced by the works of notable Congolese poet and novelist Tchicaya U Tam’si, who was "a tormented and highly sensitive writer who [B. Kouélany] also featured in her first canvases."

According to Chavelet, many of her writings have never been published (as of 2016).[2]

Painter

Her paintings are self-taught and autobiographical, making her and her art sought out among international audiences in Africa and Europe.[1]

In 2001, she participated in the residency program of the Doual’Art urban workshops in Cameroon. In 2002, her work was part of the Dak’Art Biennale with the Creators of Central Africa, and in 2006 she participated in the seventh edition of Dak’Art. In 2004 she was an artist in residence in Nantes, France and took part in an exhibition there, Beautés d’Afrique. In 2006, again at the Dak’Art Biennale exhibit, she received two prizes, the Prix de la Francophonie and Prix Montalvo Arts Center.[1]

B. Kouélany's submission the following year to documenta 12 in Germany was widely noticed. The work called Untitled was a very large installation examining the consequences of war and violence.[3][4]

In 2007, B. Kouélany was the first sub-Saharan African woman to exhibit at Documenta in Kassel. She presented her largest piece to date: a paper maché wall with excerpts of texts from several international newspapers and warped videos of her face, in which she expresses, as a mother and daughter, her empathy toward the Congolese people.[1]

Mentor

In 2012, B. Kouélany founded the contemporary art center, Les Ateliers Sahm becomming its artistic director. The multidisciplinary center to support contemporary art in her home country is a one-of-a-kind initiative devoted to supporting young artists from the Congo as well as the rest of the African continent.[5] According to the Prince Claus Fund, the creation of Les Ateliers Sahm "is perhaps one of her greatest achievements."[3]

She continues to work creatively. In 2019, she took part in the exhibition Prête-moi ton rêve in Morocco, which featured painters from Africa and is scheduled to travel to several other countries.[1] Since 2007, her work has been distributed internationally by the Peter Hermann Gallery in Berlin and the RDV Gallery in Nantes, France.[2]

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Bill Kouélany". AWARE Women artists / Femmes artistes. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  2. ^ a b c d Chavelet , D. (2016). The text in the body: Dieudonné Niangouna and Bill Kouélany: from writing to performance. Po & sie , 3 (3-4), 247-257. https://doi.org/10.3917/poesi.157.0247 (in French)
  3. ^ a b c "Report from the 2019 Prince Claus Awards Committee" (PDF). 2019. Retrieved 2021-06-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b "Bill Kouélany - Prince Claus Fund". princeclausfund.org. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  5. ^ douw. "Meet the 2019 Prince Claus Award Laureates - Art Africa Magazine". Retrieved 2021-06-07.


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