Mbuyi Tickson
- country
- DRC
- disciplines
- ceramics, performance, sculpture
- languages
- French, Lingala
- born on 05.05.1988
- in Mbujimayi, DRC
- lives in Paris, France
contact information
biography
Born in 1988 in Mbujimayi, democratic republic of Congo, Tickson Mbuyi is a performer and visual artist. Graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa in sculpture and ceramic, he creates masks, sculptures, and costumes (Homme capotes), and stages socially engaged performances in public spaces (Batela lobi na yo and Boni Santé). He has participated in international events, including the Kin’Act meetings in Kinshasa, the Oops Festival in Brighton, the YUP Festival in Germany, and the BISO Sculpture Biennial in Ouagadougou. He has also contributed to music videos and films, including System K by R. Baret and Faire-part by A. Reijniers, N. Saleh, P. Shemisi, and R. Jacobs. In 2020, he was awarded the Institut français’ Visa for Creation residency. He subsequently took up residence at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris, settled in France, and became a member of the agency of artists in exile. He was awarded the 2021 Porosus Endowment Fund grant. As part of the PAUSE programme at the Collège de France, he was hosted by the École Supérieure d’Art et de Design de Reims and La Fileuse.
His performances and works have been presented in exhibitions including Kinshasa Chroniques at the MIAM in Sète in 2018 and at the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine in Paris in 2020; Remasks on the railings of Paris Centre Town Hall in 2022; Mères d’exil at La Cité Miroir in Liège in 2023; Rituel at the Gaîté Lyrique in 2023; and CENSURE at POUSH in Aubervilliers in 2024, as part of the two editions of the Visions d’exil Festival presented by aa-e. He has also performed at the Théâtre des Malassis, La Dynamo de Banlieues Bleues, and in the gardens of the Palais-Royal. He was an artist-in-residence at the PAP in Guéret, where he presented his exhibition 7e Continent in 2023. In 2025, he presented his solo exhibition Fil conducteur, organised by Liyaka Arts Projects and curator Estelle Onema. He is currently an artist-in-residence at Maison Germaine Tillion, where he presented ZALA – Défilé des oiseaux and led workshops with children organised by C.A.M.P.
