Born in Bamako, Habibatou Yaye Keita is the daughter of a decorator and calligrapher by trade, with whom she has been drawing and painting with stencils since childhood. In 2017, she was admitted to the entrance exam for the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers Multimédia in Bamako, from which she graduated in 2020 with a degree in plastic arts. A founding member of the Sanou'Arts collective, Habibatou earned her first money by styling the hair of her sisters, then friends, then neighbors. She translates her talent as a hairdresser into painting, creating works that are as seductive for their material as for their aesthetics.