Kayo Mpoyi (b. 1986) is an author and visual artist based in Stockholm. She has published two novels, Mai Means Water and An Exercise in Revolution, as well as the children’s book Kitoko. Her artistic work has been featured in several solo and group exhibitions. In 2025, Mpoyi will graduate with a Master’s degree in Fine Art from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm.
Among her distinctions are the 2024 H.M. Queen Sonja QSPA Inspirational Award in Printmaking, the Getfot Foundation’s Printmaking Grant, and the 2022 “The Thinking Hand” drawing award from HM The King and the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. In 2020, her debut novel Mai Means Water was awarded the Katapult Prize, and her radio short story Askan was nominated for Swedish Radio’s Short Story Prize.
Kayo Mpoyi’s work revolves around storytelling—and the silence that follows it. Born in Kongo, and brought up in Tanzania and Sweden, her practice is a kind of archaeology, an excavation in which her thoughts, dreams, and emotions act as echoes, traces, and reflections of those who came before her. This inward digging is a process of embodiment, where she draws, prints, and studies objects from her personal archive—such as her mother’s photo collection. Through this process, she has come to work with drawing, printmaking, wood relief, and installations.
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Jury statement:
Maria Kayo Mpoyi is the recipient of the QSPA Inspirational Award 2024. The jury recognises her for a compelling and multifaceted artistic practice that moves confidently across a wide range of graphic techniques, from traditional woodcut to larger-scale installations. Her work demonstrates both technical versatility and conceptual ambition.
The jury was particularly impressed by Mpoyi’s thoughtful exploration of the relationship between image and text, creating layered and engaging narratives. Her works are complete and accomplished both in craftsmanship and in content. Through a sensitive and reflective engagement with personal family history, she addresses broader themes of identity and migration. Mpoyi’s ability to communicate with clarity and emotional depth gives her work a strong and lasting impact.
