Katlego Kai Kolanyane-Kesupile Explained

thumb|Kat Kai Kol-KesKatlego Kai Kolanyane-Kesupile (born January 1988, also known as Kat Kai Kol-Kes) is a performance artist, musician, writer and LGBT activist from Botswana. She is known for being the first public figure from the country to openly identify as a transgender person. She is also the first person from Botswana to be named a TED Fellow.

Biography

Kolanyane-Kesupile was born in January 1988 in Francistown.[1] [2] She is the first transgender person to come out openly in Botswana, which she did in 2013.[3] [4] [5] Kolanyane-Kesupile attended Clifton Primary School. She went to a boarding school in Durban when she was eighteen. Kolanyane-Kesupile received a bachelor's degree in theater from the University of the Witwatersrand and earned a master's degree in Human Rights, Culture and Social Justice from Goldsmiths, University of London.[6] She became a Chevening Scholar in 2016.

Kolanyane-Kesupile is the founder of the Queer Shorts Showcase Festival,[7] which is the first and only LGBT themed theater festival in Botswana.[8] [9] She has written for Peolwane Magazine, The Kalahari Review, The Washington Blade and AfroPUNK.com.[10] Kolanyane-Kesupile also plays with a band, Chasing Jakyb.[11] She writes songs for the group in both English and Setswana. The group released an album, Bongo Country, in 2015.[12]

Kolanyane-Kesupile was a 2013/2014 Best of Botswana honoree in the Performing Arts category. She was named a Highly Commended Runner Up for the 2015 Queen's Young Leaders Awards.[13] She was named a TED Global Fellow in 2017 and was the first Motswana to earn this distinction.[14] [15] In 2018, she was featured in the OkayAfrica 100 Women list.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile. Okay Africa's 100 Women. 2018-07-16. en-US. 2020-10-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20201016065644/https://100women.okayafrica.com/arts/2018/2/28/katlego-kolanyane-kesupile. dead.
  2. News: What it feels like to become 'Botswana's first openly Trans* identifying public figure'. Kol-Kes. Kat Kai. 2017-02-10. TRUE Africa. 2018-07-16. en-US.
  3. Web site: Kat's Nine Lives: Performing Trans Identity/ies in Botswana. McAllister. John. 2017-06-30. Kalahari Review. 2018-07-16.
  4. Web site: Being Kat Kai Kol-Kes: A Motswana Trans* Woman's Art and Activism. Mnthali. Luso. 29 July 2016. AfriPop!. en-US. 2018-07-16. 2020-10-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20201016065750/http://afripopmag.com/2016/07/29/being-kat-kai-kol-kes-a-motswana-trans-womans-art-and-activism/. dead.
  5. News: Being trans* is becoming a black woman of complications. Kol-Kes. Kat Kai. 2017-02-17. TRUE Africa. 2018-07-16. en-US.
  6. Web site: How one Chevening Alumna is bring queer pride to her village. 7 July 2018. Chevening. en. 2018-07-16.
  7. Web site: Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile - Agenda Contributor . 2023-04-01 . World Economic Forum . en.
  8. News: The women risking their lives to fight homophobia in Africa. Busari. Stephanie. 20 October 2017. CNN. 2018-07-16. Video by Ed Kiernan.
  9. News: Former Botswana president speaks in support of LGBT rights. Lavers. Michael K.. 2016-01-21. Washington Blade. 2018-07-16. en-US.
  10. News: Queer Literature and Culture: A dialogue with Katlego Kai Kolanyane-Kesupile. 2016-11-13. Africa in Dialogue. 2018-07-16. en-US.
  11. News: NEW MUSIC: Kat Kai Kol-Kes, the transgender artist from Botswana, brings rain to the dancefloor with 'My Body. 2014-09-17. AFROPUNK. 2018-07-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20180716205435/http://afropunk.com/2014/09/new-music-kat-kai-kol-kes-the-transgender-artist-from-botswana-brings-rain-to-the-dancefloor-with-my-body/. 16 July 2018. en-US.
  12. News: Mahlinza. Luyanda. Ever heard of Post-pop Folk?. 2015-07-08. Cue Online. 2020-03-12. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180710081350/http://cue.ru.ac.za/2015/07/ever-heard-of-post-pop-folk/. 2018-07-10. en-US.
  13. News: Motswana ARTivist Recognised In 2015 Queen's Young Leaders Awards - Mining & Travel. 2015-12-22. Mining & Travel. 2018-07-16. en-US.
  14. Web site: Botswana's first publicly open transgender among 10 African trailblazers on the TEDGlobal 2017 list. YourBotswana. en-GB. https://web.archive.org/web/20170907203605/http://yourbotswana.com/index.php/2017/05/28/botswanas-first-publicly-open-transgender-among-10-african-trailblazers-on-the-tedglobal-2017-list/. 7 September 2017. live. 2018-07-16.
  15. Web site: Kolanyane-Kesupile Honoured on Global Influencer List. 7 March 2018. Pristine Mag. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20180716202901/http://pristinemag.com/?p=8908. 16 July 2018. 2018-07-16.

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