Stanley Wany
Stanley Wany is a multidisciplinary artist whose work involves revisiting colonial and historical archives to uncover the history of his Afro-descendant ancestors. He began his explorations as an editor and creator of experimental graphic novels that explore the non-linearity of narrative and the unconscious. After a residency in Finland, he made the leap into the visual arts, continuing his research by incorporating the historicity of narratives present in popular culture. Through drawing, painting, installation, and experimental graphic novels, he deepens his reflections on popular culture, myths, and the subconscious as they relate to the experience of Afro-descendants in Western society. Experimenting with connotative media such as coffee, molasses, indigo and cotton, he embodies the concept of “creolization” popularized by Édouard Glissant. In 2025, he participated in a research residency on decolonial museology at the Redpath Museum in partnership with the Groupe de recherche et de réflexion CIÉCO. He recently completed a master’s degree at UQAM and a research-creative residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program in Brooklyn.
Stanley Wany has presented solo exhibitions at Galerie ELLEPHANT, Galerie de l’UQAM, Plug In Contemporary Art Institute, BAND Gallery, Ottawa Art Gallery and Perc Tucker Regional Gallery (Australia). He has also participated in group exhibitions at Parsons School of Design, with the City of Montreal, at Art Mûr Gallery, at Âjagemô (Canada Council for the Arts), at the City of Ottawa, at the Senate of the Canadian Parliament, at Wallspace Gallery + Framing and at the North by Northwest Festival. He has also taken part in numerous events, including the Plural fair, Art Toronto, the Haitian Studies Association convention, a residency at Arteles (Finland), the Angoulême Comics Festival and the Helsinki Comics Festival.Five publications are included in his career, including Helem (2021, Conundrum Press), Inwards (2020, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery), Séquences, Dreamcave and Agalma (2015, 2016 and 2017, Éditions Trip), in addition to numerous contributions to collective works. He is the recipient of various grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the CIÉCO research and reflection group (2024-2025). His works can be found in the following collections: Majudia Collection; Art Bank of Canada; TD Bank; Ottawa Art Gallery; Private Collections, Canada and Australia; Perc Tucker Regional Gallery (Townsville, Australia); City of Ottawa; William Marsh Rice University (Houston, Texas).
APPROACH
My practice includes the study of strategies of survival and cultural transmission within Afro-descendant diasporas. By drawing on archives and my family legacy, I seek to rebuild the traditional and historical links that have forged my identity despite dominant systems. The approaches to this r