Learn about the people and place sof Mali.

Seydou Keita was born in Bamako, Mali in 1921, then part of the colony of French Sudan and a bustling transportation hub on the route to Dakar. With a Kodak Brownie given to him by his uncle, Keita took up photography at the age of 14, going on to establish what would become Bamako's most successful portraiture enterprise of the 1950s and 60s. "Photographs, Bamako, Mali 1949-1970" draws on an expanded archive to offer over 400 portraits, mostly unpublished, from the height of the photographer's productivity in downtown Bamako. Providing lushly patterned backdrops and props that now serve to date distinct periods in his career, the artist often styled his subjects but also encouraged their active participation, hanging sample portraits around the studio as inspiration. Migratory youth, government officials, shop owners and Bamako's cultural elite all make appearances here, and while Keita's photographs served as both family record and cultural status symbol for the clients who commissioned them, these images have become a lasting visual record of Mali at that time. Seydou Keita's work made its first international appearance in 1991 and has been exhibited extensively across Europe, Japan and the United States.

It's Mali's sixth birthday and she's excited. As more and more guests arrive, so do more and more gifts. But when her presents start to push her guests out of the house, Mali has to learn an important life lesson about the things that matter most. Will she choose more presents or more family and friends? Read this delightful, beautiful book and find out! The book doesn't end when the story's over! Adults, keep reading for interactive activities to extend the lesson.

Publisher Description

Text and photographs introduce the topography, history, society, economy, and governmental structure of Mali.

A photo-journey through the homes and lives of 30 families, revealing culture and economic levels around the world.

Malick Sidibé documented an important period of West African history with great commitment, enthusiasm and insight, focusing on Malian youth in the 1950s and 60s. His portraits and documentary photography captured the unique atmosphere and vitality of an African capital in a period of great euphoria. From the earliest days of the postcolonial period, Sidibé was a privileged witness to a period of tremendous, euphoric cultural change. As a young but well thought-of photographer, he captured a time of paradigm shift and youthful insouciance with a healthy curiosity about the rest of the world, and a valiant sense of pride and confidence in the future. Sidibé learned the basic skills of studio photography as an apprentice before he began making reportage photographs. Since then, he has been devoted to photography. His portraits and documentary photographs, from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, now bear witness to the cultural and social development of post-colonial Mali. We see joy, hope, beauty and power in these psychologically captivating images. Sidibé's work, originally intended for an African audience, is a unique memoir and testimony for a world audience.