9th Edition of Bamako Encounters: An African Photography Biennial

Mali Fri 07-10-2011

9th Edition of Bamako Encounters: An African Photography Biennial
News

In 2011, the Institut français, operator for cultural initiatives outside of France, is joining forces once again with the Malian Ministry of Culture to organise the 9th edition of Bamako Encounters from 1st November 2011 to 1st January 2012 under the theme "For A Sustainable World."

Nyani Quarmyne's 'A school boy from Totope, Totope Village', Adafoah, Ghana, 2010

Nyani Quarmyne's A school boy from Totope, Totope Village, Adafoah, Ghana, 2010

This African Photography Biennial, which is now recognised around the world, has been a key event for the last 17 years in the African and Caribbean artistic programme supported by the Institut français. Through Bamako Encounters, African artistic creation has been supported around three major themes:

Supporting creation-by producing prints of the photos in the exhibition, which belong to the artists and provide them with a source of revenues.
Supporting training–through photography workshops organised in Africa between biennials.
Supporting visibility–in venues devoted to contemporary art or art marketplaces.

Here in Bamako, the world can discover and recognise the creativity of African artists. Bamako is also where artists can meet with professionals to discuss new projects that will allow them to show their work in London, Sao Paulo or Tokyo.

And in France, during Paris Photo, we can find the young artists discovered at The Bamako Encounters in recent years. Thanks to the work of Samuel Sidibé, General Delegate for the event, as well as Michket Krifa and Laura Sérani, Artistic Directors for the two previous editions, we can expect continued international recognition of African contemporary creation in the fields of photography and new images.

Bamako-Encounters-2011 Bamako-Encounters,-2011

The Bamako Encounters, African Photography Biennial, have come to play a major role in the cultural life of Mali and the entire continent. As the years have passed, the Encounters have developed into the essential Pan-African event for photographers on the African continent and in the Diaspora, offering artists exceptional opportunities to meet not just one another but also photography professionals from around the World: commissioners, gallery owners, exhibit curators, collectors and journalists.

As the exhibits have travelled around the world, they have contributed towards establishing an international image of African photography in all its creativity and dynamism. The Bamako Encounters have also promoted the emergence of national and regional photography events. And so, little by little, the work done has raised photographic creativity to the level of one of the most talked-about contemporary forms of artistic expression.

Elise Fitte-Duval, série « Vivez les pieds dans l’eau » 2009 © Elise Fitte-Duval

Three sites have been open for this 9th edition with the following objectives:

To promote the emergence of African art curators and critics. Given the fact that few exhibition curators invited to the major international events live and work on the African continent, it is intended to encourage access to this profession for African exhibition curators by offering carte blanche to a young African curator, chosen from a call for candidates. This year, a proposal will be welcome from Ruth Belinga of Cameroun with an exhibition devoted to the late Goddy Leye, who passed away early this year.
To promote a policy of conservation and promotion of the African photographic heritage, which this year was initiated by the National Museum of Mali.
To contribute to the development of the art market in Africa, The Bamako Encounters, after introducing two artists from South Africa’s Michael Stevenson Gallery in 2009, will host a selection of photographs from the Sindika Dokolo collection, with Simon Njami as curator.

Finally, contemporary African creativity will be honoured at Paris Photo, which is inviting The Bamako Encounters to Paris, from November 10 to 13, 2011.

For A Sustainable World

In 2011, The Bamako Encounters are featuring an examination of the search for a sustainable world, with the intention of drafting a status report and paying particular attention to the signs and forms of possible resistance.

Bamako-Encounters,-201107

Bamako-Encounters,-201109. Bamako-Encounters,-201108

'The Arab Spring': Tribute To Tunisian and Egyptian Artists

The widespread approval of the proposed theme merely confirmed the social and political commitment of African artists. Ecological concerns, formerly limited to a restricted circle of alert visionaries, are now part of our everyday life and at the heart of all debates. Global warming, the exhaustion of mineral and food resources, deforestation, water shortages are today at the centre of all planetary issues and balances.

Economic liberalism based on the consumer society has improved productivity and development, but it has also reinforced profit and inequality at the expense of basic respect for people and their environments.

In 2010, many African countries celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their independence. For many, this event was a time for drawing up a balance sheet of national accomplishments and for casting a critical eye on political and social structures and the distribution of wealth.

For these Encounters, photographers and videographers have invited to testify, to expose, but also to identify approaches for action, signs of resistance and prevention for the construction of a sustainable world. The various works presented take a documentary and journalistic approach to the theme, with metaphorical or fictional narratives.

Bamako-Encounters,-201110

Hela Ammar 'La liberté appartient au peuple', Sidi Bouzid, 2011

The variety of themes and languages chosen by the artists provide an overview of artistic production today, on the continent and in the diaspora. It measures the effervescence and ongoing renewal of the African photographic scene, with, in particular, the emergence of a new generation that is inventing its own codes of expression.

For more information on The Encounters, please visit www.rencontres-bamako.com.

Posted By: Allan Kapten

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