Born in 1986, Smail Kanouté lives and works in Paris.
graduate of ENSAD, Ecole National Supéreure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.
A multidisciplinary artist—graphic designer, screen printer, visual artist, and dancer—he blends dance and visual arts. A self-taught dancer, he draws inspiration from his travels in France, Brazil, Mali, and across Europe to create performances in which choreography becomes a form of visual expression. His work explores themes of identity and social narratives, combining aesthetics with critical reflection.
In 2016, he founded "Compagnie Vivons", through which he developed works such as Never Twenty One (2021), a piece that examines the violence experienced by young African Americans, and Yasuke Kurosan (2022), inspired by the story of the first Black samurai. These works are supported and presented by prestigious institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art of Lyon, the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, and the Institut des Cultures d'Islam in Paris.
An artist-in-residence in New Orleans as part of Villa Albertine, as well as at Ateliers Médicis, Centquatre-Paris, and MC93, Smaïl Kanouté continues to expand his artistic approach, seeking to engage the public with the beauty, humanity, and multicultural narratives that shape his work.
2025
Black Eguns, exposition personnelle, Galerie Dix9 Paris
Black Indians to the Casamance River, danses performances dans le festival Africolor, Paris et region parisienne
2024 - 2025
Dance Wordls, Exposition d'un court-métrage de danse, Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, Allemagne
2023 - 2024
Incarnations, exposition d'un court-métrage de danse, collection du MAC, Musée d'art conremporain de Lyon
2023-2022
Goutte d'Or: Détours d'un Quartier Monde, curateur et artiste exposé, Institut des Cultures d'Islam, dans le cadre du programme gouvernemental Mondes Nouveaux
2022
Nuit Blanche Paris : performances
Yasuke Walks, défilé performance, Centre Pompidou, Paris
Tryptique de court-métrages, Festival Sequence Danse, Centquatre Paris
2021
Beings, exposition de court-métrages de danse, galerie Backslash
Zone Franche, Institut des Culture d'Islam (AFRICA 2020).
2020 - 2021
Daïdo Moriyama et Shomei Tomatsu:Tokyo, exposition d'un court métrage de danse, MEP Paris
Comme un parfum d'aventure, Exposition d'un court-métrage de danse, MAC de Lyon.
2020
KATART Global Art Fair, Doha, Qatar.
salon DDessin à Paris
Foire ART UP, galerie AGNEZ
2015
The Other Experience, Quartier Général, Paris
2014
IN/OUT, galerie I Comme Phénix
2004
Guernica, Atelier Picasso, Paris avec l'Association Méharées.