Floribert Pertulien Bantsimba is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist, actor, storyteller, puppeteer, percussionist and calabash craftsman, who is originally from Congo-Brazzaville.
He is an active member of the Quebec Street Arts Group, as well as Diversité Artistique Montréal.
The artist is passionate about the art of the calabash, a gourd that inspires in him endless creativity, which he owes to a childhood spent crafting alongside his grandmother. Floribert’s imagination helps him transform the gourds into figurines, puppets, decorative objects, lamps, and vases. Several techniques are employed, including pyrography, painting, drilling and illustration.
The calabash is versatile and can also be used for the manufacture of kitchen utensils or musical instruments, such as the kora, maracas, the sanza, and the sitar.