the essential
Singer, DJ, dancer, producer and activist for LGBT+ rights, Kiddy Smile will be the associated artist of Nouveau Printemps in Toulouse in 2025. The “French prince” of voguing promises a “festive and inclusive” edition. Interview.
La Dépêche du Midi: We present you under many hats. How would you define yourself?
Kiddy Smile: I’ve always struggled with how to talk about myself and how to describe how I feel through just one type of Art. All these labels of DJ, singer, stylist weigh a lot on me because in France, when you are capable of doing several things, you skim over them. It’s very different in the United States, where this versatility is seen as an asset. I would say that I define myself as an artist. I alternated between hats through encounters that made me grow, evolve and allowed me to deepen my views.
Does the artist necessarily have to carry a message?
We don’t spend time materializing what’s going on in our heads without sending a message! I am an eternal romantic so my first intention is to talk about my friendly and romantic romances. I also talk about my daily life. But what I experience is always linked to the oppressions I experience, to the fact of being black and queer. Talking about love when you’re homosexual and people get beaten up for it in the street, when “being” can become a news item, it’s necessarily political. Homosexuality is no longer a crime but homophobia is still very present in society. On the one hand, we are gaining in terms of inclusiveness, on the other, people are sinking into fear and speaking even louder.
Your performances often make an impression, like in 2018 when you mixed for the music festival in the courtyard of the Elysée wearing a “Son of immigrants, black and queer” t-shirt…
I could not go to the Elysée and ignore what it represents in terms of oppression for the LGBT community and repression of migrants. I chose to wear this t-shirt to speak so simply about who I am. I was harassed a lot after that, attacked on social networks by the far right and by the National Rally. I should have apologized for being black and queer!
How did you get introduced to dance and music?
I grew up in a town in Rambouillet where there wasn’t much to do. One day I was asked to dance at the MJC; I wasn’t really pushed towards it at first but I liked it. It was there that I understood that being an artist could be a profession and could prevent me from having a future in the city. From dance competitions in Paris to meetings and projects, notably with DJ Mehdi, I opened myself up to electro and house music.
Why this red Bibendum outfit during the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games?
I am very honored to have participated in this ceremony. I myself am 30% disabled; I have very little mobility left in my right ankle, I can no longer run or jump. These Games helped to reveal the heroic aspect of Paralympic sport. As for my costume, a “muscle suit”, it is for me a way of criticizing society and my own desire to want to integrate the norm for everything related to the body.
You have been chosen as an associate artist for Nouveau Printemps 2025. Who will you invite?
I first wondered if I was legitimate to be an associate artist. Clément Postec, the artistic director of the festival, reassured me and today I am very impatient to be there. I have had the opportunity to come to Toulouse several times, it is a city that I love very much! I can’t say anything about the programming yet, but I have a clear idea of what I want to do. I want to bring in artists who touch me, who also talk about love and their relationship to the world. And I would like to give this edition a festive, performance dimension. It’s a bit of my DNA! Until then, I will present a documentary film, “Drift”, made with Jérémie Danon at the Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale.
