BIC, a world leader in Stationery, Lighters, and Shavers, named ‘Black Lion’ a half-man, half-lion portrait by artist Fatiou Aboudou from Cotonou as the winner of its 2019 BIC Art Master Africa Competition. The original piece took 250 hours to complete and was drawn using only black BIC Cristal® Medium ballpoint pens.
The BIC Art Master competition was first held in South Africa in 2017 and following its success, it expanded to include all of Africa in 2019. The creative artwork was chosen from 5,242 entries submitted by more than 2,400 artists from 47 African countries on the competition’s dedicated website BICArtMaster.com. ‘Black Lion’ was chosen for its creativity and originality by a panel of experts and is set to become part of ‘La Collection BIC’, the company’s official art collection. Aboudou was awarded the grand prize of $1,000 USD and a personalized gallery to showcase his artwork.
In addition to Aboudou, Kansiime Brian emerged as the contest’s People’s Choice winner, chosen by online voters for his piece titled ‘Life’, which depicts the true definition of a young girl’s happiness. Brian received $500 USD and a BIC Artistry Kit.
Commenting on the success of the competition, Peter Van den Broeck, General Manager, Middle East and Africa said, “Africa is doubtfully rich in inspiration, talent, and creativity. We were very impressed with the submissions we received and the beautiful work that was produced using only BIC’s ballpoint pens. BIC has a longstanding history with art, and we are proud to have established a platform that helps recognize and shed a stronger light on artistic talent in Africa. We thank all the talented artists who took part in the 2019 BIC Art Master Africa competition as well as all the fans who voted for their favorite artwork.”
BIC’s connection to art spans more than 60 years. The brand regularly celebrates the creativity and originality of artists who find great inspiration in creating masterpieces using BIC’s Stationery, Lighters, and Shavers products. In 2018, BIC hosted the first of its kind exhibition with 150 works of art by 80 international artists.
The collection, which started in the late nineties at an exhibition in Italy devoted to the life story of Marcel Bich today consists of more than 250 works by internationally recognized or upcoming artists. In addition, BIC has a number of established partnerships with art institutes around the world and has its products displayed in a number of renowned museums around the world.
BIC is a world leader in stationery, lighters and shavers. For 75 years, BIC has honored the tradition of providing high-quality, affordable products to consumers everywhere. Through this unwavering dedication BIC has become one of the most recognized brands and is a trademark registered worldwide for identifying BIC products which are sold in more than 160 countries around the world. In 2018, BIC Net Sales were 1,949.8 million euros. The Company is listed on “Euronext Paris” and is part of the SBF120 and CAC Mid 60 indexes. BIC is also part of the following Socially Responsible Investment indexes: CDP A list and CDP “Supplier Engagement rating Leader board”, Euronext Vigeo – Eurozone 120, Euronext Vigeo – Europe 120, FTSE4Good indexes, Ethibel Pioneer and Ethibel Excellence Investment Registers, Ethibel Sustainability Index (ESI) Excellence Europe, Stoxx Global ESG Leaders Index.
