Esther Calixte-Béa

Through painting, photography, textiles and poetry, Esther Calixte-Béa challenges Eurocentric beauty standards by tackling the taboo of female body hair. In her works, black women proudly wear their hair, which is glorified on their bodies. The artist also tackles the theme of identity, by inventing a fictitious ethnic group called Fyète Souhou-te; that of individuality, by giving each character a unique appearance thanks to their elaborate hairstyles; and the question of vulnerability, by creating in her work a space for healing. Calixte-Béa constructs an inventive world often inspired by nature, her personal life and her cultural heritage.

Esther Calixte-Béa is a multidisciplinary artist of Ivorian and Haitian origin, born in Longueuil in 1996. She is also a female hair activist known as "Queen Esie". Calixte-Béa completed a bachelor's degree in painting and drawing at Concordia University in 2020. Her first solo exhibition, Creation of an Ethereal World, was presented at Centrale Galerie Powerhouse in 2021. She has also participated in several group shows, including Af-Flux: Biennale Transnationale Noire and MAADI, presented in 2022 at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.