Nadia Khiari
Nadia Khiari (
Academic background
Academically, Khiari is a graduate of the Faculty of Plastic Arts in Aix-en-Provence, France, and teaches art at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Tunis.[3] In 2013 she received a degree asDocteur Honoris Causa from the University of Liège in Belgium.[1]
Artistic career
Apart from social media, Khiari's work has been published in magazines such as Siné Mensuel, Courrier International and Zelium. In criticism of former Tunisian president Ben Ali, she created a cartoon character of a cat named Willis. In January 2011, she started the page Willis from Tunis[4] on Facebook to air her feelings about the Arab Spring, which attracted over 56,000 followers in August 2021.[1] She confessed that she draws "to take the heat off certain situations".[3] Due to the former regime's strict policies of censorship and to avoid being thrown into prison, she was careful to "learn to trick, to suggest rather than to speak".[5] She has said of her artwork and the revolution: "For me it's not a job. It's a freedom. Like I'm being born. Before the revolution, I was a zombie. I think, but I cannot express myself. So I didn't feel like I was alive. With the revolution I was born, like a baby. My first screaming was my drawing. And now for me it's a revolution in my art, totally. I can finally express myself and say what I think and criticize the government. For me I can finally do my passion: cartoons."[6]
Aside from her cartoons, Khiari is also known for her work as a
Recognition
Khiari has received multiple acclaim for her artwork. She has been awarded the
References
- ^ a b c d "Willis from Tunis". Cartooningforpeace.org. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ "Nadia KHIARI : "Willis le chat fait la révolution en Tunisie"" (in French). TV5Monde. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Tunisian cartoonist Nadia Khiari: 'I draw to take the heat off certain situations' - video". The Guardian. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ "WillisFromTunis". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Nadia Khiari, des caricatures contre les dictatures". Le Monde (in French). 9 September 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ "Nadia Khiari's "Willis in Tunis": Born Again in Revolution". Radioopensource.org. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Cartooning for Peace" (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- OCLC 1241074342.
- ^ "100 Women 2016: Female Arab cartoonists challenge authority". 28 November 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.