Malick Sidibé has received international acclaim since his debut solo exhibition in 1995 curated by André Magnin for the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art in Paris. Since then Sidibé has frequently exhibited in the world’s major museums and contemporary art galleries. Most recently he has been the recipient of many coveted international awards such as the International Centre of Photography Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007 and the Hasselblad Award in 2003.

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A short conversation with Malick Sidibé

Is your studio in the same place it has always been since 1958?

Yes, we can say that since 1958-1960 my studio is still in the same place in Bagadagi.

To talk about your work is to talk about the life and people of Bamako, the clubs, the Sunday afternoons by the river. You were a part of this life, enjoying the parties and the moments with everyone else. Your comment?

Yes I was a part of the popular life of the people of Bamako. I have taken photos of all aspects of life in Mali through the years, the changes, the officials, the constructions, the people of that time. I took photos for baptisms, communions, marriages, the new business and official classes. I was also asked by the government to take photos of road and building construction. Many of the working class wanted to be photographed too. They were proud to be modern and have work and be photographed so I visited them at work during the week and took their photographs. They all had trust in me. I was out with them at the parties and at the river on Sundays. I had their confidence and I was one of them.

What is the view of how Africa has been portrayed compared to your own experience of living in Bamako? Are the two different?

For sure! We always see the negative aspects of Africa on television, of war, poverty, etc. My experience has been very different and the photos that I have taken here in Bamako show that. Maybe that is why people have been drawn to it. One time in Paris two women said that they have discovered another face of Africa in my photos, one of elegance, fun, joy… I say this is the true face of Africa.

What is your personal response to international claim to your work today – with all the acclaim and the awards?

I have always tried to do good work all the time and maybe it has also partially been the reason. I think people have found the work interesting because it shows the life of Malians or Africans in general that they have never encountered before. Through the photos taken in my studio, people are now rediscovering the 1960s of Bamako. In today’s world people are constantly looking for new things that they haven’t seen before and maybe these images show this.

You have seen many changes in Bamako since the 1960s. What is your view of the western influence on the culture in Bamako since then?

With any kind of contact come influence and change and what has happened here in Bamako is no different. During the 1960s in Bamako the youth dressed in European dress and listened to American and European music. It doesn’t matter what clothes you wear or what music you listen to. You are still African! It takes much more to change that.

Have you been aware of the DRUM magazine photos from South Africa and other Anglophone African countries? How did that influence at all?

I was very disappointed by the images I saw from South Africa under apartheid in the 1960s. It was depressing. Unfortunately I have not been very much aware of the DRUM photographers as we did not have that much contact with Anglophone Africa here. We knew more what was going on with our neighbours in Francophone Africa. But this needs to be addressed. We should get to know each other better, and the work from other parts of the continent.

The Bamako Photo Biennale is the premier photo exhibition on the continent. Do you think it follows in the tradition of Bamako’s popular photo culture of the past?

The Bamako Photo Biennale is seen by locals as mainly for tourists and visitors to Mali. The ordinary people of Mali feel the images a bit strange to them. I think it is also a question of education. But at the same time it is good for us photographers to see the photos and what is happening in other parts of the continent.

Are your photos still affordable to local Malians or are there different prices for different people?

These days everyone has a camera so there is not much business in studio photography. With the coming of instant colour labs the studio photo started to die off. But I have stuck it out and continued to produce photos in black and white.