Quinsy Gario
Gario while visiting Ràdio Web MACBA, June 2014
Born1984 (age 39–40)
Curaçao
Occupations
  • Artist
  • activist
Known forOpposition against Zwarte Piet

Quinsy Gario (born 1984) is a Curaçaoan activist and artist. He is a prominent opponent of the Dutch tradition of Zwarte Piet. Gario was born in Curaçao and raised in St Maarten before moving to the Netherlands.[1][2] He created the project Zwarte Piet is Racisme (Black Pete is Racism) about Zwarte Piet.[3] In 2011 he was arrested for public disturbance at the traditional annual Sinterklaas festival where he was protesting against the use of Zwarte Piet.[4][5] He appeared on a national television talk show in 2013 "to make his case" which was part of a series of events in October that The Economist says "polaris[ed] cultural life and dragging in celebrities, politicians, and even the UN" and "changed Zwarte Piet". For many, even if a year ago he was not a symbol of Dutch racism, he is now."[6]

His brother, Jörgen Gario, is also an artist.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Quinsy Gario". framerframed.nl.
  2. ^ Gario, Quinsy. "Quinsy Gario". Creative African Network. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  3. ^ "ZWARTE PIET IS RACISME". tumblr.com.
  4. ^ "Quotidian. Dutch Journal for the Study of Everyday Life". Archived from the original on October 24, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  5. ^ Bijnsdorp, Laura (2 December 2011). "Quinsy Gario on Zwarte Piet". Daily Herald. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  6. ^ "Is Zwarte Piet racism?". The Economist. 2 November 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  7. ^ Davies, Katie Marie (1 May 2023). "The art of decolonization How Eastern European art became the latest battlefront in countering Russian imperialism". The Beet.
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