Esther Calixte-Bea
bio
Esther Calixte-Bea is a multidisciplinary artist born in Longueuil of Haitian and Ivorian descent. She is also a body hair activist known as ‘Queen Esie’. Calixte-Bea completed her BFA at Concordia University in Painting and Drawing (2020). Her paintings have been featured in Vie des Arts and many news publications such as CBC Radio, CTV Montreal and TVA Nouvelles. Her photography series the 'Lavender Project’ has been featured in Fashion Canada, Glamour UK, and others. She has exhibited her work in several group exhibitions such as “Af-Flux: Biennale Transnational Noire” at Art Mûr (2021) and in Stanley Février’s “MAADI” at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (2022). Calixte-Bea had her first solo exhibition "Creation of an Ethereal World" at La Centrale Powerhouse gallery (2021).
artist statement
Esther Calixte-Bea’s artistic practice expands through various art forms such as painting, photography, textiles and poetry. Through her work, she challenges Eurocentric beauty standards by addressing the taboo of female body hair. In her visual compositions, body hair is glorified on the bodies of her black female characters and exposed with pride instead of shame. She addresses the topics of identity by inventing a fictional tribe called Fyète Souhou-te; individuality by giving each character a unique appearance with intricate hairstyles, and vulnerability by creating a space for healing. Calixte-Bea builds an imaginative world full of vibrant colours often inspired by nature, her personal life and her cultural background. She paints female characters with acrylic paint and occasionally uses fabric to add texture to the work. Navigating through various mediums, she brings her characters to life by creating garments, wigs, and accessories that she displays on mannequins in the exhibition space. Calixte-Bea also works with photographic self-portraiture in which she wears her own creations all the while showing her body hair. Through writing and poetry, she tells a story of the tribe, illustrating their lifestyle, community, traditions and loss of identity.
Education
2016-2020
Concordia University
Undergraduate: Painting and Drawing
2014-2016
Dawson College
Visual Arts
2009-2014
Heritage Regional High School
FAF- Visual Arts
Solo Exhibition
September 23rd -October 28th 2021
Creation of an Ethereal World, La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse, Montreal
Group Exhibition
2022
Imaginaires Souverains, Maison de la culture Janine Sutto et Galerie Hugues Charbonneau, Montreal
J'habite le territoires, Maison de la Culture de Longueuil Marcel-Robidas, Longueuil
ARTCH, Dorchester Square, Montreal
Stanley Février's MAADI, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal
Art.Écran, Place de la Création, Montreal
Entre, La P'tite Porte, Montreal
Aynalem: L'oeil du monde, Centre d'Art Diane-Dufresne, Repentigny
Dos à Dos, Face à Face, Institut National Art Contemporain, Montreal
Vues d’Afrique-Rallye Expo : Union Urbaine, Boutique Espace Urbaine, Montreal
What is the Future of Canadian Afro Descendant Art, Black Wealth Club X Gallea Digital Exhibition, Montreal
2021
Af-Flux Biennale Transnationale Noire: Monde Bossale, Art Mûr, Montreal
Wall-to-Wall Mural & Culture Festival, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Wild Trails, Jano Lapin Gallery, Montreal
Opening a Dialogue, Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec, Quebec City
(model part of The Womanhood Project)
Musée d’Art Actuel Département des Invisibles (MAADI), Université de Sherbrooke, Campus Longueuil
2020
This is what Compels me to Compel them, Le Livart, Montreal
HUMA-I-N, Galerie Rad Hourani, Montreal
New Legacies : Untangling the Collective Conscience (online exhibition), Repos Anxieux, Montreal
Black History Month Takeover, Concordia University EV Building, Montreal
2019
Vocation en Art, Carrefour Jeunesse Emploi Saint-Hubert, Saint-Hubert
Reclaiming My Place (student exhibition), Warren G. Flowers Gallery, Montreal
Le Salon, Atelier 2112, Montreal
Body; Language, VAV Gallery, Montreal
L’Environment c’est Intersectionnelle, Librarie Racine 2.0, Montreal-Nord
SPACE Exhibition Perspectives, Warren G Flowers Gallery, Montreal
2018
Vocation en Art, Carrefour Jeunesse Emploi Saint-Hubert, Saint-Hubert
SPACE Exhibition “En-tropy ”,Warren G Flowers Gallery, Montreal
26 ème édition du Salon des Arts Visuels, Centre Socioculturel Alphonse Lepage, Brossard
Vocation en Art 2nd part, Maison des Citoyens Saint-Hubert, Saint-Hubert
2017
Vocation en Art, Carrefour Jeunesse Emploi Saint-Hubert, Saint-Hubert
25 ème édition du Salon des Arts Visuels, Centre Socioculturel Alphonse Lepage, Brossard
SPACE Exhibition “Glitch”, Warren G Flower Gallery , Montreal
Vocation en Art 2nd part, Mayson des Citoyens Saint-Hubert, Saint-Hubert
2016
Vocation en Art, Carrefour Jeunesse Emploi Saint-Hubert, Saint-Hubert
The Global Art League, Montreal Art Center, Montreal
Apis (End of Year Exhibition), Warren G. Flowers Gallery, Dawson College,Montreal
SPACE Exhibition “Visions”, Warren G. Flowers Gallery, Dawson College, Montreal
2015
SPACE Exhibition “Trans”, Warren G. Flowers Gallery, Dawson College, Montreal
Publication
The Trans-Exhibition, Edited By Mulvey Frank, Warren G. Flowers Art Gallery, Montreal, Catalogue de l’Exposition, Page 52, 2015, ISBN 978-1-55016-643-9
Visual Arts Graduating Class Apis 16, edited by Smith Stephanie, Meredith Colin J., Vu Caroline, Minh Le Tina Thu Ngo, Dawson College, Montreal, Catalogue de l’Exposition, page 16, 2016
Visions, edited by Mulvey Frank, Warren G. flower Art Gallery, Montreal, Catalogue de l’Exposition, page 80, 2016, ISBN 978-1-55016-996-6
Glitch, edited by Mulvey Frank and Beattie Amanda, Warren G. Flowers Gallery, Montreal, Catalogue de l’Exposition, page 12, 2016, ISBN 978-1-55016-325-4
Entropy, Edited By Beattie Amanda, Warren G. Flowers Art Gallery, Montreal, Exhibition Catalogue, Page 10, 2018, ISBN 978-1-55016-931-7
Perspectives, Watson Sarah, Warren G. Flowers Gallery, Montreal, Catalogue de l’Exposition, Page 14, 2019, ISBN 978-1-55016-798-6
Lalonde, Chloe " Lavender Project" Yiara magazine, 18 Mar 2020. p.24-25 PRINT https://issuu.com/raissapaes/docs/yiara_volume8
Zavaro, Adele. "Esther Calixte-Bea" L'Organe 'Periple', Mar 2020. p. 20 PRINT https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z1Z2BQqDJz2etpdVKz8RR4Almi_MWVoo/view?fbclid=IwAR3xyhfN4C7ssX7rTuQWm_-YjT05NXdwZQIFh-x55zYkaRnO7QZju08M6iA
Articles
Froundjian , Nanor. “Esther Calixte-Bea Addresses One of the Biggest Taboos: Female Body Hair: Special Issue.” The Link, 1 Oct. 2019, https://thelinknewspaper.ca/article/esther-calixte-bea-addresses-one-of-the-biggest-taboos-female-body-hair
Mignacca , Franca G. “With a Lens on Body Hair, an Artist Challenges Notions of 'Normal' | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 26 Oct. 2019, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/photo-series-tackles-stigma-women-chest-hair-1.5336927
Picotte, Vanessa. "Elle défie les conventions et expose sa pilosité sur les réseaux sociaux" Le Courrier du Sud, 29 Jan, 2020, https://www.lecourrierdusud.ca/elle-defie-les-conventions-et-expose-sa-pilosite-sur-les-reseaux-sociaux/
Floud, Rebecca. " PRICKLY SUBJECT Women who’ve embraced Januhairy proudly show off their natural fuzz after ditching the razors for a month" The Sun. 29 Jan 2020. https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/10693776/women-ditch-razor-hairy-fuzz-januhairy-proud-snaps/
London, Bianca. "Women are defiantly ditching their razors and posting empowering #Januhairy snaps on social media" Glamour UK. 30 Jan 2020. https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/januhairy-campaign
Londo, Bianca. "'There's nothing wrong with me, there's something wrong with society': Meet the artist who powerfully displays her chest hair to bust beauty ideals" Glamour UK. 17 Feb 2020, https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/esther-calixte-bea-interview
Tv Interviews
Denis Lévesque . "Pas gênée de montrer la pilosité de sa poitrine" TVA Nouvelle. 28 Nov 2019. https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2019/11/28/elle-ne-se-gene-pas-pour-montrer-sa-pilosite-de-poitrine
Studio Direct. "Esther Calixte-Béa, artiste, photographe et étudiante" TVRS. 13 Feb 2020. http://www.tvrs.ca/emissions/studio-direct/sur-demande?show=29151
Awards
Vocation En Art Exhibition Coup De Cœur 2016
Vocation En Art Exhibition Young Artist 2016
Salon Des Arts Visuels De Brossard 25th edition Promising Young Artist 2017