The queer and Creole community of Réunion Island is having an exhibition in Paris
by Ivica Mamedy
Kwir Nou Éxist project, a photo installation conceived by model, actress and activist Raya Martigny and her partner Edouard Richard, is now on view until July 25 in the iconic Tuileries Garden in Paris. As part of the 35th edition of the Paris l’Été Festival, and in partnership with Les Étés du Louvre, Kwir Nou Éxist, which means “Queer We Exist” in English, aims to give visibility to and inscribe into history the queer and Creole community of Réunion Island, where Raya is originally from. Having left the island at the age of 16 due to a lack of representation, this project now allows her to reconnect with her roots while creating lasting images meant to bear witness and inspire future generations.
Born in October 2020 from the vision of artists Raya Martigny and Édouard Richard, partners in both life and art, Kwir Nou Éxist is a multimedia artistic project that explores the construction of queer identity within the insular and cultural context of Réunion Island. Through a series of photographic portraits, videos, and archival materials, the project sheds light on the diversity and activism of the LGBTQIA+ community in Réunion Island. For Raya, who left the island at the age of 16 like many young LGBTQIA+ people, returning revealed a strong and resilient local movement. The images, both tender and deeply rooted in the island’s landscapes, reconcile two identities long seen as opposites: being Creole and being queer. They affirm: “We are Creole, we are queer, and we exist.”. In addition, the testimonies gathered from participants speak to a lack of positive representation of queer Creole identities, something this project seeks to address. A short film extends these stories, offering an immersive experience into the intensity of the island. The project has a dual ambition: to enrich the representation of queer Creole identities and to create historical archives for the LGBTQIA+ community of Réunion Island.
After Paris, the project Kwir Nou Éxist will travel in September to Réunion Island, in partnership with the association Requeer at FRAC Réunion, with debates and performances. The final step of 2025 will be in Brazil, in Rio (Futuros art center) and São Paulo (MIS, as part of the MixBrasil festival), with Debê Produções.
Kwir Nou Éxist by Raya Martigny and Edouard Richard
Tuileries Garden, 75001 Paris, free entrance.
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