Fanny Bouyagui followed a path that started as a fashion apprenticeship and has led to Fine Art College and a journey to the ends of the earth. Her past and her roots are reflected in her myriad artistic creations: her “art & fashion” show, multimedia installation, live performances, and more. In 1991, she set up shop in a former fabric warehouse in Roubaix, a place where she would live, work, and create Art Point M. This hosted the “Art Flea Market” (the “Braderie de l’Art”) dedicated to recycling art and design (awarded COP21 in 2015 and Lille, World Design Capital in 2020), and the “NAME”, an electronic music festival for the Hauts-de-France region. Fanny Bouyagui’s story is a tale of interaction and loyalty. She worked with Didier Fusillier, President of the Villette, since 1998 (Les Inattendus Festival in Maubeuge, lille2004, the European Capital of Culture, and since the lille3000 biennales). With Jean Blaise, she created a unique space in Nantes for a range of installations, including the multimedia “I have a dream” in 2001. She worked with José Manuel Gonçalvès, director of 104 in Paris, for the co-production of “A Few People More or Less”, an interactive multimedia show (running from 1999 to 2003). Fanny Bouyagui also developed a plastic approach to fashion in her shows. She created “Commercial Violence” for 25e heure / Avignon Festival (2005). In 2011, her immersive and monumental installation, “Welcome”, was based on the story of her father, a Senegalese immigrant who arrived in France in 1957. This was unveiled in 2011 at the Chalon sur Saône and Antwerp festivals, and then at the 66th Avignon Festival and at Champs Libres, at the Musée de Bretagne in 2014. Fanny Bouyagui was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2013. In 2015, she was the partner artist for Mons 2015, the European Capital of Culture. For this, she designed “SUN CITY”, a gigantic labyrinth created as an urban installation, consisting of 15,000 sunflowers. In May 2017, at the request of Jean Blaise, Fanny was behind the opening parade for the 500th anniversary of the City of Le Havre, before taking the reins of the last two opening parades for lille3000 (2018 and 2022). In 2018, she created FOULE POWER, a participation-focused and 100% recycled fashion show, for the Les Invités festival in Villeurbanne. The show was adapted for Abidjan in March 2020 for the MASA festival, then in Roubaix in 2022. Over the past five years, Fanny Bouyagui has been developing a more personal contemporary ceramic project. Part of her latest collection will be exhibited at the La Piscine museum in Roubaix, in October 2023.
