Rencontres de Bamako: 11th African Biennale of Photography

Zied Ben Romdhane, West of Life, 2014–16.

11th African Biennale of Photography
Afrotopia
December 2, 2017 – January 31, 2018
http://www.rencontres-bamako.com/?lang=en

Organised by the Malian Ministry of Culture and the Institut français, and directed by Samuel Sidibé, Director of the National Museum of Mali, Les Rencontres de Bamako is the leading international platform dedicated to contemporary photography and new images in Africa.

The 11th African Biennale of Photography will take place from December 2, 2017 to January 31, 2018, with professional days from December 2–5, 2017.

Afrotopia
This year’s Biennale, called Afrotopia, is curated by cultural consultant and independent curator Marie-Ann Yemsi.

“The decision to call this biennale Afrotopia, echoing the book by Senegalese intellectual Felwine Sarr, reflects a commitment to ensuring that this historic and pioneering biennale for photography is integral to the new Pan-African forces for change, to embracing them and contributing to them,” Marie-Ann Yemsi.

The Pan-African exhibition​
The Pan-African exhibition, at the National Museum of Mali, will be the beating heart of the Biennale. For this exhibition, the selection committee was composed of the Artistic Director, Marie-Ann Yemsi, the General Delegate, Samuel Sidibé, as well as members of the Curatorial Advisory Committee, Sammy Baloji, Olfa Feki, Rébecca Lamarche-Vadel, Lekgetho James Makola, Aïda Muluneh, and Azu Nwagbogu.

40 proposals have been chosen among over 300 applications from artists and collectives based across the African continent or in its diasporas. Through their great diversity of approaches and visual languages, the artists generate alternative narratives about Africa that build new bonds with the past, shed light on the present and open perspectives for the future.

The full list of the artists selected for the Pan-African exhibition is available online.