Malick Sidibé

(Malian, born circa 1936–2016)

Malick Sidibé was a celebrated Malian photographer. Working primarily in black and white, his photographs captured lively portraits and scenes of celebration. His best-known works depict the burgeoning pop culture and nightlife of the Malian capital, prolifically documenting young people and their dress in elegantly posed studio portraits with patterned backdrops, which either match or deliberately clash with the sitters’ outfits and poses. “It’s a world, someone’s face,” the artist once said. “When I capture it, I see the future of the world.” Born in either 1935 or 1936 in Soloba, Mali into a peasant family, he grew up helping his father shepherding and entered school at the age of 10. Noted for his artistic talent at an early age, Sidibé was selected to attend the School of Sudanese Craftsmen and later worked as an apprentice at the Gérard Guillat-Guignard's Photo Service Boutique, developing his skill and interest in the photographic medium. He would go on to international acclaim, with solo exhibitions dedicated to his work at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the Musée Pincé in Angers, among others. He was the recipient of the Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Acheivement at the 2007 Venice Biennale, one the art world’s highest honors. He died in 2016 at the age of 80.