Minia Biabiany (born 1988) is an artist, filmmaker, and education researcher from

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

. Her work has emphasized the roles stories and physical spaces play in Guadeloupean culture, while also generally focusing on cultural aspects that are derived from colonial and postcolonial contexts.

Early life

Minia Biabiany was born in the capital of the

French overseas department The overseas departments and regions of France (, ; DROM) are the five departments and regions of the French Republic which are located outside European France (also known as "metropolitan France"). These overseas entities have exactly the same ...

of Guadeloupe,

Basse-Terre Basse-Terre (, ; ; ) is a communes of the Guadeloupe department, commune in the France, French overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefectures in France, pref ...

, in 1988. She studied in

Metropolitan France Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...

, at the

École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Lyon The École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Lyon is a school of art and design in Lyon, located in Les Subsistances, in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon, in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. It is part of the École des Beaux-Arts traditio ...

. In 2011, she obtained an art diploma, alongside the French university system's ''félicitations du jury'' distinction.

Career

Artistic practice

The subjective experience of space, both psychological and physical, has been a topic Biabiany has explored in her work. In the context of her exhibition spaces, she has made conscious decisions regarding which materials and techniques were used, engaging in a holistic approach that incorporates both spirituality and culture. Biabiany has combined different types of objects, including plants and the human body, in videos and installations. Weaving has also been featured in these videos and installations, as, in her artwork, weaving as well as braiding have been used to challenge preconceived standards of knowledge transmission and storytelling. The effects of colonialism, both contemporary and historical, have been a very important theme throughout Biabiany's work, which has often engaged with what colonial systems have entailed for Guadeloupe. This has included highlighting past perspectives on the various colonial mechanisms the islands have been subjected to, viewing colonialism through the lens of assimilation to Metropolitan French culture, and examining how the Guadeloupean people have resisted on different scales and in different situations. Biabiany has also occasionally touched on concepts relating to feminist ideas, such as, for instance, in the context of her exhibition ''Musa Nuit''.

Educational work

Bibiany has conducted research in the field of education. She has devised experimental educational projects. Two of these, ''Semillero Caribe'' (seminars organized by a group of the same name) and ''Doukou'' (a platform), have combined theory originating from the Caribbean, art, and the body.

Exhibitions

This list contains both solo and group exhibitions. * 2022: ''How to Sing Our Songs on Their Land'', TKG+ Projects,

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

(

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

) * 2022: ''Diffé'',

Palais de Tokyo The Palais de Tokyo (''Tokyo Palace'') is a building dedicated to modern and contemporary art, located at 13 avenue du Président-Wilson, facing the Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The eastern wing of the building belongs to ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

(

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) * 2022: ''Pluie sur mer'', Le Grand Café,

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...

(France) * 2020: ''Global(e) Resistance'',

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

, Paris (France) * 2020: ''Spoiled Waters Spilled'', CCN Ballet National de Marseille,

Manifesta 13 Manifesta 13 was an art exhibition within the Manifesta European art biennial, hosted in Marseille, France, between August and November 2020. Overview Manifesta is a European art biennial that rotates between host cities. It will be the fir ...

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

(France) * 2020: ''Traits d'union.s'', Manifesta 13 Marseille (France) * 2020: ''One month before being known in that island'', The Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger,

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

(

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

) * 2020: ''One month after being known in that island'', The Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger, Basel (Switzerland) * 2020: ''J'ai tué le papillon dans mon oreille'', Magasin des horizons,

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

(France) * 2020: ''Musa nuit'', Fondation Hermès, La Verrière,

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

(

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

) * 2020: ''Paroles de Lieux'', Les Tanneries, Amilly (France) * 2019: ''Le jour des esprits est notre nuit'', CRAC Alsace,

Altkirch Altkirch (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department in Alsace in north-eastern France. The town is traditionally regarded as the capital of Sundgau. Etymology The name of the commune means ''old c ...

(France) * 2018: ''Toli Toli'', TKG+ Projects, Taipei (Taiwan) * 2016: ''Spelling'', Signal Center for Contemporary Art,

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

(

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

)

References

{{Reflist Wikipedia Student Program 1988 births French artists Living people French filmmakers Caribbean artists Postcolonialism Afro-Caribbean culture African diaspora in the Caribbean Feminist artists Guadeloupean artists 21st-century French artists