Nadia Khiari | |
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نادية خياري | |
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| Born | 1973 (age 51–52) |
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| Awards | Honoré Daumier Award |
Nadia Khiari (Arabic:نادية خياري; born 21 May 1973) is aTunisian cartoonist, painter, graffiti artist and art teacher. She is best known for her chronicles and cartoon collections about theArab Springs,[1] particularly for her character 'Willis from Tunis', dubbed the "Cat of the Revolution" in some sources.[2]
Academically, Khiari is a graduate of the Faculty of Plastic Arts inAix-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 theUniversity of Liège in Belgium.[1]
Apart from social media, Khiari's work has been published in magazines such asSiné Mensuel,Courrier International andZelium. In criticism of former Tunisian presidentBen Ali, she created a cartoon character of a cat named Willis. In January 2011, she started the pageWillis from Tunis[4] onFacebook to air her feelings about theArab 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 agraffiti artist.[5] As member of the association 'Cartooning for Peace', she has also participated in French schools with the programme "Dessine-moi la Méditerranée".[7] In 2020, she published her bookWillis from Tunis, 10 ans et toujours vivant! with a foreword by French cartoonistPlantu.[8]
Khiari has received multiple acclaim for her artwork. She has been awarded theHonoré Daumier Award during the Second International meeting of Cartooning for Peace in Caen (2012), thePolitical Satire International Award inForte dei Marmi (2014), and the 2015Agora Med Award for Intercultural Dialogue in the Mediterranean.[1] In 2016, she was named one of theBBC's 100 Women,[9] and in September 2016, she showcased her work at the Le Monde Festival.[7]
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