Seb Toussaint

Seb Toussaint in Rio de Janeiro, 2016

Born|  (1988-06-05) 5 June 1988 (age 34)

Caen, Normandy

Nationality| British and French
Known for| Street art, Graffiti, Painting
Website| www.sebtoussaint.com

Seb Toussaint is a Franco-British artist and muralist born in Caen in 1988.[1]

Coming from the ultra scene,[2] he is mainly known for his street-art project Share the Word.

As part of this project, he has produced more than 200 murals representing words proposed by inhabitants of different countries.[3] These words also serve as the basis for his work on canvas.

## Life and career[edit]

Born in Normandy to a French father and a British mother,[4] Seb Toussaint made his first creations as a teenager with the Malherbe Normandy Kop (creation of tifos, banners and fan merchandise), a group of supporters of football supporters from his hometown.[5] At the same time, he started to paint graffiti in the streets of his region.[6]

In 2011 and 2012, he cycled around the world with two childhood friends and took the opportunity to perfect his art on the walls of the countries he visited. This trip gave him the idea to create Share the Word Project.[7]

## Share the Word Project[edit]

In 2013, he created Outsiders Krew, an art collective with Norman photographer Spag Bertin and started Share the Word Project.[6]

During each episode of this project, Seb Toussaint spends a month in a marginalized community (slums, favelas, refugee camps, etc.) and asks the inhabitants to choose words which he then paints on their houses.[8] The murals produced then serve as a support to tell the stories of these anonymous people and their neighborhoods.

### Project host countries[edit]

(From 2013 to today; the city and district of residence are listed in parentheses[9])

* Indonesia (Jakarta / Kampung Bayur)
* Kenya (Nairobi / Mukuru Kayaba)
* Nepal (Katmandu / Baisinghat)[10]
* Normandy (Caen / La Presqu'île)
* Colombia (Bogotà / Mariscal Sucre)
* Egypt (Cairo / Mazarita)[11]
* Philippines (Manila / Gagalangin)
* Ethiopia (Addis Ababa / Lideta)

* France (Calais / La Jungle)
* Brazil (Rio de Janeiro / Santo Amaro)
* India (Mumbai / Phule Nagar)
* Iraq (Kawergosk / Refugee Camp)
* Niger (Niamey / Kombo)
* Palestine (Nablus / Balata)[12]
* France (Nanterre / Bidonville Rom)
* Uganda (Nakivale / New Congo)

* Ivory Coast (Abidjan / Le Trou)
* Mayotte (Ongojou)[13]
* Venezuela (Caracas / Petare)[14]
* Italy (Sicily / Favara)
* Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek / Zavodskoy Poselok)
* Mauritania (Nouakchott / Zaatar)[15]

|
|

* Trust in Mumbai (India), 2017

* Freedom in Gagalangin slum in Manila, 2016

* In Kawergosk refugee camp (Iraq), 2017

* School in Kawergosk (Iraq), 2017

* Humanity in Balata in Palestine, 2018

* Peace on a house in Kombo, Niger

* Bani on a wall in earthen, 2017

* Yarinta (childhood).Word chosen by a resident of Kombo, 2017

* Resiliencia (Resilience), Petare district (Caracas)

* Soudés, La Fauconnière district (Gonesse)

## PAZ in Colombia[edit]

In the summer of 2016, Seb Toussaint returned to Bogotá in the district of Mariscal Sucre (the location of the 4th episode of Share the Word Project two years earlier) to paint a mega mural on sixteen dwellings.[16] The inhabitants choose together the word PAZ (“Peace” in Spanish) to express their wish for the future of the district.[17]

At the same time, the President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC were in major negotiations to reach a historic peace agreement between the two parties.[18] This combination of circumstances then gave a spotlight on Seb Toussaint's mural who will shortly after receive joint public congratulations from the Colombian president and the FARC.[19]

## Exhibitions[edit]

### 2020[edit]

* Esposizione Share The Word, Favara, Sicily (Italy)[20]

### 2019[edit]

* Partage de mots, Abidjan, Ivory Coast[21]

### 2017[edit]

* Quand Seb Toussaint fait parler les murs, Niamey, Niger[22]
* Peace, Le Mur, Cherbourg, France[23]
* Bogotà, Visaje Grafitti, Bogotà, Colombia

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ Fresnais, Raphaël (2017). "En Irak, un artiste Caennais écrit leurs espoirs en forme de graffiti" [In Iraq, an artist from Caen writes their hopes in the form of graffiti]. Ouest-France.
2. ^ Navarro, Guillaume (2014). "" Le mouvement ultra est très créatif "" ["The ultra movement is very creative"]. So Foot.
3. ^ "Travelling artist provides a different view". The Business Times. 2023.
4. ^ Labbe Pacheco, Jadine (2018). "Seb Toussaint, le street artist qui ramène l'art dans les zones défavorisées du monde" [Seb Toussaint, the street artist who brings art back to underprivileged areas of the world]. Clique.tv.
5. ^ Taipei Times (2023). "Artist provides different view for poor people". taipeitimes.com.
6. ^ a b Africanews, Redaction (2023). "Globetrotting artist brightens up downtrodden neighborhoods". Africanews.
7. ^ "Painting The World's Slums And Refugee Camps With Seb Toussaint". Splatrs Street Art. 2020.
8. ^ "Colombie: "union" par le streetart pour des déplacés du conflit armé" [Colombia: "union" by street art for people displaced by armed conflict]. La Croix. 2017.
9. ^ Arvide, Cynthia (2018). "Ascensor a la prosperidad: arte en pueblos marginados" [Elevator to prosperity: art in marginalized towns]. Vice.com.
10. ^ Brownell, Ginanne (2014). "Street Art Floods Nepal With Color". The New York Times.
11. ^ El Saeed, Salma (2016). "Touring Street Artists Color Up Egypt's Bleak Slums, Highlight Neglected Communities". Egyptian Streets.
12. ^ Parenti, Salomé (2018). "Du street art en Palestine" [Street art in Palestine]. La Croix.
13. ^ Deleu, Yohann (2019). "Seb Toussaint, street artiste renommé, peint à Ongojou" [Seb Toussaint, renowned street artist, painted in Ongojou]. Le Journal de Mayotte.
14. ^ Delille, Benjamin (2018). "Au Venezuela, l'artiste franco-britannique Seb Toussaint colore les rues d'un bidonville".
15. ^ "L'artiste Seb Toussaint colore un bidonville de Nouakchott" [Artist Seb Toussaint colors a slum in Nouakchott]. TV5 Monde. 2023.
16. ^ Rebillat, Clémentine (2016). "Guerre, paix et espoir inscrits sur les murs en Colombie" [War, peace and hope written on walls in Colombia]. Paris Match.
17. ^ "Colombie: dans un bidonville de Bogota, une fresque géante pour la paix" [Colombia: in a slum of Bogota, a mega mural for peace]. RTBF. 2016.
18. ^ Filippi, Laurent (2016). "Le street art en Colombie, un acte politique" [Street art in Colombia, a political act]. France Télévision.
19. ^ "Paz, algo más que una palabra para los residentes del barrio Mariscal Sucre" [Peace, something more than a word for the residents of the Mariscal Sucre neighborhood]. El Espectador. 2016.
20. ^ "Favara capitale dell'architettura, Saieva: "Non stiamo nella pelle"". Agrigento Notizie. 2020.
21. ^ Guérard, Jean-François (2019). "Expo Seb Toussaint : Partage de mots, du 16 au 30 avril". Vivre les cultures. p. 25.
22. ^ "Quand Seb Toussaint fait parler les murs". Africultures. 2017.
23. ^ "Street-Art : l'artiste Seb Toussaint s'est emparé du Mur à Cherbourg". Ouest-France. 2017.

## External links[edit]

* Seb Toussaint Website
* Seb Toussaint Instagram