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Katlego Kai Kolanyane-Kesupile

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Kat Kai Kol-Kes

Katlego 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. She is the first transgender person to come out openly in Botswana, which she did in 2013. 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. She became a Chevening Scholar in 2016.

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

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. She was named a TED Global Fellow in 2017 and was the first Motswana to earn this distinction. In 2018, she was featured in the OkayAfrica 100 Women list.

References

  1. "Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile". Okay Africa's 100 Women. Archived from the original on 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  2. ^ Kol-Kes, Kat Kai (2017-02-10). "What it feels like to become 'Botswana's first openly Trans* identifying public figure'". TRUE Africa. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  3. ^ McAllister, John (2017-06-30). "Kat's Nine Lives: Performing Trans Identity/ies in Botswana". Kalahari Review. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  4. Mnthali, Luso (29 July 2016). "Being Kat Kai Kol-Kes: A Motswana Trans* Woman's Art and Activism". AfriPop!. Archived from the original on 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  5. ^ Kol-Kes, Kat Kai (2017-02-17). "Being trans* is becoming a black woman of complications". TRUE Africa. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  6. "How one Chevening Alumna is bring queer pride to her village". Chevening. 7 July 2018. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  7. "Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile - Agenda Contributor". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
  8. Busari, Stephanie (20 October 2017). "The women risking their lives to fight homophobia in Africa". CNN. Video by Ed Kiernan. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  9. Lavers, Michael K. (2016-01-21). "Former Botswana president speaks in support of LGBT rights". Washington Blade. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  10. ^ "Queer Literature and Culture: A dialogue with Katlego Kai Kolanyane-Kesupile". Africa in Dialogue. 2016-11-13. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  11. ^ "NEW MUSIC: Kat Kai Kol-Kes, the transgender artist from Botswana, brings rain to the dancefloor with 'My Body". AFROPUNK. 2014-09-17. Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  12. Mahlinza, Luyanda (2015-07-08). "Ever heard of Post-pop Folk?". Cue Online. Archived from the original on 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  13. "Motswana ARTivist Recognised In 2015 Queen's Young Leaders Awards - Mining & Travel". Mining & Travel. 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  14. "Botswana's first publicly open transgender among 10 African trailblazers on the TEDGlobal 2017 list". YourBotswana. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  15. ^ "Kolanyane-Kesupile Honoured on Global Influencer List". Pristine Mag. 7 March 2018. Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 2018-07-16.

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