Our Carrie Wayne is rising

It can be said that the status of Mauritian painter Kelly Wynne, who had to go into exile in France to obtain an officially recognized transgender woman, is on the rise. In addition to obtaining a refugee residence permit from the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) in July 2023, she has just obtained a travel document in her married name. Moreover, its exhibition book is full by the end of the year. His life is popular on TikTok.

She is a very happy woman, with whom we have communicated over the past week via email and WhatsApp. Kelly Wayne has reason to be happy because, in addition to receiving a refugee residence permit from OFPRA on July 11, 2023, she has just received a travel document issued by OFPRA in her name as a woman. She lives in the department of Le Havre. “I feel less stressed and I’m finally happy to be legal on French territory”she said with a smile.

Although the residence permit is valid for ten years, it cannot be revoked as long as the situation remains unchanged. “I was sentenced to 10 years, but it’s like a lifetime residence permit. It can’t be revoked because the procedure requires us to give it a 10-year period and it can be renewed for life as long as my refugee status doesn’t change.”

With this residence permit, Kelly Wayne can now start the French naturalization process. “I will not automatically get French nationality. I have to apply for it. On the other hand, with this residence permit I can naturalize more easily.

Getting a travel document as a trans woman is a dream for her, as it would allow her to travel anywhere in the world, except Mauritius, where she was granted refugee status and a residence permit after proving to the French authorities that: The Mauritian government refuses to officially recognize her as a trans woman, but once she gets French citizenship, she will be able to go on holiday to Mauritius. “Naturalisation will cancel my refugee residence permit and I can actually return to Mauritius for my holidays.”

Kelly Wynne’s exhibition diary is always full. In July, she exhibited her paintings for a month at the Aub’Art gallery in Le Havre. Since mid-August, she has been in Grasse, a small town in the southwest of France, more precisely on the Cote d’Azur, and her paintings have been on display at the Is’art gallery since August 18. They will stay there until September 12.

Kelly Wynne will then travel to Le Havre, where she will prepare an exhibition together with two other artists, a photographer and a portrait painter. This trio exhibition will take place in October at the Le Normandie Theatre, which is currently undergoing renovation. Kelly Wynne explains the historical significance of this place. “It’s a place of great reputation and one of the rare monuments in Le Havre that was not bombed and destroyed during World War II. The history of the city is very moving. I actually painted a painting of this theatre. I’ve already started collecting new paintings for next year.”

The beautiful Kelly Wynn has been approached to apply for next year’s Miss France T competition. The competition promotes diversity and transgenderism and is a platform to fight transphobia and discrimination. “I haven’t made a decision on that yet. I’m still thinking about it.”

Since she started showing her paintings and her life on the social network Tik Tok, subscribers have been pouring in. She currently has 72,000 subscribers, many of whom are from Mauritius. “To be honest, I didn’t start out wanting to be on Tik Tok. I went there to show my paintings and afterwards I was able to reconnect with Mauritians. Every time I live stream and chat with Mauritians in Krol, I feel really happy because I want to stay connected to my roots. I’m grateful to everyone who supports me on social networks, including my compatriots. I believe that we must never forget where we come from to know where we are going. Even though I had administrative problems in Mauritius, I have never been ashamed of my past or culture. I was born in Mauritius and I’m proud to say that I’m Mauritian. You should know that with every exhibition I have in France or every live I paint on Tik Tok, I represent Mauritian culture and our beautiful island in my journey. I’m certainly far away, but my island will always remain in my heart.”