Malick Sidibé Mali, 1935-2016

Malick Sidibé (1935, Soloba, Mali - 2016, Bamako) is one of the great photographers of the twentieth century, the celebrated "eye of Bamako" and photographer of the African night. From his Studio Malick, opened in 1962, and from the surprise parties, nightclubs and picnics on the banks of the Niger, he chronicled in black and white the exuberant youth of a newly independent Mali: twist and rock and roll, Cuban music and Congolese rumba, tailored suits and printed fabrics, the joyful invention of a modern African identity. Revealed internationally by the Rencontres de Bamako (1994), he was the first African artist awarded the Hasselblad Award (2003) and the first photographer and first African artist to receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale (2007). His works are held in the MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago.