I wish I were in Bamako. I'm willing to bet that just about everyone who cares about photography and who isn't in Bamako is saying the same thing.
Bamako, the capital of the West African nation of Mali is where Africa's greatest celebration of photography -- the Bamako Encounters, the African Photography Biennial -- has been held every two years since 1994. This year's event opened on November 1st, and it runs until the end of the year. At this very moment (more or less), many hundreds of photographers, curators, writers, collectors, and various hangers-on are flooding the streets, galleries, and theaters of that ancient city.
The image below is a page that I've taken from the Biennial's catalog/press kit, which available as a free PDF download, here. It's beautifully produced and most definitely worth a look.
[Click on the image to see a larger version.]
The website La Lettre de la Photographie is devoting this week to showcasing photography from Bamako. Virtually all of the work is impressive. While I haven't had time to look at all of it, I've been especially taken by Akintunde Akinleye's images of the environmental toll that oil production has taken on the Niger Delta, in Nigeria; by David Goldblatt's new series "Ex-Offenders;" and by Fatouma Diabaté's photos of Malian children masquerading as characters from traditional tales.
There is much more to explore at both the Biennial's website and at La Lettre de la Photographie.
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