Bamako

1st June 2012 - 1st July 2012
Sophie Mew, Diane Patrice, Harandane Dicko, Evelyn Owen

Project outline:

‘London & Bamako’ is a cross-cultural and multi-vocal portrait photography exhibition project supported by narrations from both cities. Our photographer artist from Bamako has collaborated with our photographer artist from London to document every day lives in their respective cities in one exhibition.
Two identical site-specific exhibitions are displayed in museum galleries, London (UK) and Bamako (Mali). The exhibition will travel consecutively to both countries.

Through direct communication, disseminating portrait photographs and accompanied short transcriptions (‘photo stories’ in French and English) as the principle mediums, topics on the use of money and the effects of economic crises in every day life are told through the images and voices of a range of British and Malian individuals themselves. By focussing on these aspects of daily lives of individuals, the photographers have sought to expose how ordinary people have been affected by the current political situation in Bamako and how money is used and circulates in London.

About us:

Harandane Dicko: photographer artist. Bamako based (Born in 1978, in Tonka in the Timbuktu region, Mali, Harandane Dicko lives and works in Bamako. After graduating in human sciences, he joined the Centre de Formation en Photographie de Bamako (CFP). In 2002, Dicko attended a training course at the Centre d'Enseignement Professionel de Vevey (CEPV), Switzerland and underwent an internship at the newspaper "Der Land Bote", in Winterthur, Switzerland. In 2002, he won the award given by the Ecole de Photographie de Vevey. He has participated in many group exhibitions (at the CFP in Bamako, Centre culturel français de Bamako, Festival Visages francophones de Cahors, international exhibition within the frame of the sixth Rencontres africaines de la Photographie de Bamako, Kornhaus Museum in Bern, Switzerland, BNF, Paris, France). He produced several reportages for Helvetas, Mali; the NGO Sante Diabete and for the European Union in Mali. In 2005, he represented Mali at the cultural contest of the fifth "Jeux de la Francophonie" in Niamey, Niger. Harandane Dicko shares his passion for photography with residential trainings abroad and a technical assistant position at the CFP of Bamako.

Diane Patrice: born in Derby, UK, lives and works in London. She is a freelance photographer specialising in music, portrait and people.
A collaborator with ‘Bamako and London’, which included a trip in 2011 to take the project to Mali.
In 2007 Diane exhibited in London with a groups project ‘What is British’ focusing on the ‘British family’ and was Gold winner in the Fashion category at the London Photographic Association.
Presently working on a personal project of contemporary African inspired portraits, which she will be looking to exhibit in the future. (www.dianepatrice.com)

Sophie Mew: curator. A regular visitor to Mali since 1998, Sophie has recently completed her doctoral studies on heritage and display in museums in Mali and Ghana. This is the second exhibition project that Sophie has launched for the purposes of connecting the UK and Mali and promoting both capital cities through every day lives in both locations. Sophie is currently Project Curator on the research project Money in Africa, Coins and Medals dept at the British Museum.

Evelyn Owen - curatorial support. Evelyn is a writer and researcher with interests in contemporary art, urban and cultural geography and postcolonial studies. Since moving to London in 2007, she has been based at Queen Mary, University of London, where she is currently writing her PhD on the cultural geographies of the contemporary African art world. She visited Bamako for the first time in 2011 for the Rencontres biennale, and hopes to return soon. She blogs at africanartinlondon.wordpress.com