Didier Kassai (b. 20 April 1974 in Sibut Central African Republic) is a cartoonist and illustrator. Growing up in a family of artists, he claims in an interview with Christophe Cassiau-Haurie that he was “discovered” in a workshop organized by the Centre Culturel Français, Bangui in 1990. Although his parents were initially resistant to his calling as an artist, he was able to take care of his family and send his brothers to school with his first job as an illustrator for the Baptist Mid Mission, Sibut, from 1992-1996. When the missionaries left the country because of a political rebellion, he began to work in 1997 as a cartoonist with the newspaper of the MLPC political party, Le Perroquet. From 1998, he has worked on commission and has participated in festivals, residencies and exhibitions in other parts of Africa, Europe, Japan, and the United States. He studied the comic arts in Bangui, Libreville, Yaunde, Kinshasa, and Brussels.
In 2005 as a part of EDUCA 2000, he collaborated with Olivier Bombasaro on Gipépé le pygmée, other Gipépé books, and Aventures en Centrafrique for literacy training. They were published in Cote D’Ivoire in 2005 and 2006. He has contributed to other book projects, such as À l’ombre du Baobab in 2001, Africa comics published by Lai-momo (Bologne) in 2003 and 2006, une journée dans la vie d’un Africain d’Afrique published by the association l’Afrique Dessinée (St Ouen)in 2007 and Vies Volées in Afrobulles in 2007…
In 2006, he won the “Prix africa e mediterraneo” in Bologne with Azinda et le mariage force He also won the Pan-African competition ” Vues d’Afrique ” with “Bangui coquette” at the Angoulême festival. In 2009, he won the “Prix du meilleur projet,” for the Best Comicbook project with Pousse-pousse at the Algiers festival.
Sources:
Lambiek Comiclopedia
La Revue Dessinee: “La terreur en Centrafrique”
- Takam Tiko Interview, April 2011
- Interview with the ALMO bog, November 2009
- Interview with Christophe Cassiau-Haurie on Africultures, June 2008
- l’Odyssée de Mongou Rapides, Bangui. 2008.
- Tempête sur Bangui La Boite a Bulles, 2014
- Pousse-pousse L’Harmattan BD, 2014