Category Archives: Mali

Felicitations Diébédo Francis Kéré! Kéré has won the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize.

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Although Burkinabe architect Diébédo Francis Kéré is not Malian, his work holds a very special presence in Bamako, the capital of Mali. Kéré’s firm was engaged to breathe new life into the Parc National du Mali back in 2010 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Mali’s independence.

The centerpiece of the park’s refreshed design is the restaurant that sits embedded into one of the rocky hills of the grounds of the park. One of Kéré’s trademarks is using elements and materials that are a part of the context they are in. You can see this a work in every project his firm works on, not just in Bamako.

The Parc National du Mali holds a special place in my own life because I spent A LOT of time there with my oldest daughter when she was a baby. Although we did not go into the iconic restaurant a lot, we did spend go the to Tea House a lot to chill, drink tea and eat some of the best croissants I had ever had until my first stay in Paris (a story for another day).

After sitting with his work for a while it is very easy to see the 5 principles Kere says make “great” architecture:
1. Involve the community
2. Innovate with local knowledge and materials
3. Use minimal resources
4. Design with regional sensibilities and traditions
5. Build architecture that improves equality

You can read the full article here.

I hope to do a Kere tour to see all the projects he has built, I think it would be dope to do an architecture, culture, and cuisine tour of his works…

Here are a few links to more of Kere’s work: HERE ,HERE, HERE, & HERE

A. Chab Touré on Malick Sidibe, Malian Photography, Aesthetics, Contemporary Art, & on & on

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I post these links because I think it is important to hear what Malians (and Continental Africans, on and of the Continent) are saying about their own work and their own artists. I think it is particularly important to hear from the those who are still on the ground and trying to get more visibility and build craft and critical capacity of the artists of their country(ies).

Bamako Encounters 2015: Tradition and change in Malian photography

Mali’s Era of Independence, in Photos originally published on Creative Time Reports

Midnight in Bamako: In search of the late Malick Sidibé and the rhythmic roots of his legendary photographs.

a few video interviews with A.Chab Touré

L’esthétique en Art – Rencontre avec Chab Touré from les inachevés on Vimeo.

Chab Touré nous parle d’esthétique, de la naissance de l’Art (4’40”), de la relation Art – Religion – Pouvoir (7’28”), de la naissance de l’Art Moderne (9’14”), de l’oeuvre et de sa valeur symbolique (12’00”) et de l’Art Contemporain (14’20”).

Art et concept – Rencontre avec Chab Touré from les inachevés on Vimeo.

Chab Touré nous parle de:
– L’Art contre la culture, contre le société
– La conceptualisation, une prise de distance avec la réalité.

Long time

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Yeah…I know it has been a looonnng time since I have been here, but life has kept me quite busy lately. Trying to keep up with 2 little ones 2 years old or younger is not an easy task, but I am loving every minute of it.

I just wanted to jump on here and share a little bit of news. A poem that I wrote here in Mali, entitled Currency, has been published on PRIVATE.

It seems like a great publication, I have been following them for some time now and I hope to collaborate with them on some projects in the near future.

Check it out when you get a chance—>PRIVATE.

 

Another sad day for Mali

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Image courtesy of Janet Goldner’s Facebook Page

In the first few months of my time in Mali, I was blessed to meet ad fellowship with some people that have made my trip here all the more pleasurable Kandioura Coulibaly, was one of those people. Coulibaly passed away last night. Coulibaly was one of the founding members of Groupe Bogolan Kasobané, which is an artist collective who focus is to preserve the textile and craft traditions of Mali.

While visiting his home he showed me some of the amazing jewelry, textile pieces and some of the amazing contemporary bogolan work he (and his collective) are doing. Coulibaly also showed me some really amazing Malian antique sculptures, beads and other items that his collective have been stewards of for many years. Some of the marking and inscriptions on these items only Coulibaly, his collective and other initiates know the meaning of; they are vital to the preservation and promotion of Mali art and culture.

I left his home that day inspired not only by what I saw, but also because of what I learned and conversation we had. Although Bamako is a large city that sometimes it feels very much like a small village, I would randomly run him at different art events and the like. The last time I saw him was a few weeks ago at the RENCONTRES DE BAMAKO and everything seemed fine, but we did not get a chance to talk at length, beyond greeting each other. Now I wish I had made the time to speak to him a little longer.

As Mali attempts to weather the winds of some tough times ahead, the loss of an artist of this caliber is really a horrific blow, one that unfortunately the politicians will not feel. The worst part of this lack of recognition of Mali’s cultural treasures and social fabric are some of the most powerful tools that  Mali has to combat the current realities here on the ground.

Click here for Janet Goldner’s essay from Poetics of Cloth, which talks a little bit about Groupe Bogolan Kasobané.

I will be adding more links as I dig them..so stay tuned…

Full Circle: cool art stuff in Bamako

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If you have been following this or my other blog, you know that I was honored to have my poem selected as the winner of The Divine Comedy Poetry contest at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art. The contest is one the events connected to the new exhibition,  The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists.  
Well, about a week before we left to make our way to the States (with a nice stopover in Paris, my first visit to the City of Lights!), I had the honor of meeting, Abdoulaye Konate whose work inspired my poem, Below as Above, at an opening that he at the Musee National Du Mali for  an exhibition of his that would be traveling to Brazil.

Here are some images from that event:

And while we were in DC Melanie snuck a picture of Naomi and I standing next to Konate’s work:

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Below as Above (cross-posted from fredjoiner.com)

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A few days ago I found out my poem was chosen as the winner for The Divine Comedy Poetry contest at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art.

The contest is one the events connected to the new exhibition,  The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists.  

Abdoulaye Konaté b. 1953, Mali Dance of Kayes from La Danse series 2008 Textile, each: approx. 246.4 x 170.2 cm (97 x 67 in.). Collection of Saro León

Abdoulaye Konaté
b. 1953, Mali
Dance of Kayes from La Danse series
2008
Textile, each: approx. 246.4 x 170.2 cm
(97 x 67 in.).
Collection of Saro León

My poem was in response to Malian textile artist, Abdoulaye Konate’s 2008  Dance of Kayes from La Danse series, as seen above. Read the poem here.

I choose Konate’s work not only because he is Malian, but because his exhibition at the Institut Francais of Mali , was the one of the only art of a Malian artist I had seen other than Malick Sidibe, Seydou Keita, Alioune Bâ and a few others – all photographers.  Painter, Amadou Sanogo, was the other Malian artist’s work that I had seen, aside of the famous Malian photographers.

I also chose Konate’s piece because of the cool colors he chose to represent Kayes are not what I expected given that the Kayes region is one of the hottest places on the planet, so the contrast was quite striking.

I was asked to read the poem at the Museum’s Divine Poetour this summer on July 2. Split This Rock’s DC Youth Slam Team and NMAfA’s Teen Ambassadors, will be reading their works that engage the The Divine Comedy exhibition.  So come out and support the DC Youth Slam Team and NMAfA’s Teen Ambassadors. Peep the flyer below…

The Divine Poetour, July 2nd @NMAfA

The Divine Poetour, July 2nd @NMAfA

I am excited to be a part of The Divine Poetour, it looks like it will be similar to a project that I did afew years back as a collaboration between The American Poetry Museum and The Phillips Collection.