By Nii B. Andrews
Today, is the last day for BAMAKO ENCOUNTERS, the 11th African Biennale of Photography.
The exhibition that began on December 2 2017, explored the vexed topics of identity and possibility through the theme of “Afrotopia”.
Afrotopia is not about an African utopia only, but also about dystopia which is a stark African reality.
The goal is to find out if Africa can learn from its failures.
The 40 artists from all over the continent who were chosen to participate, tried to address this and other questions of identity.
What does it mean to be an artist in Africa?
What does the future hold for Africa?
While sounding upbeat, Marie-Ann Yemsi, curator of the Biennale, said, “it’s probably from Africa that will come new ideas and new economic systems”.
She fully acknowledged that artists cannot change the world but can assist us in seeing reality from a different perspective.
In this vein, the photographic essay on albinism by Sarah Waiswa was most striking. It was entitled “Stranger in a familiar Land”.
In parts of Africa, albinos are persecuted. Waiswa proposes a change in the way albinos are seen— making beauty from their difference.
Several important prizes were awarded to artists who exhibited at the Biennale.
The Seydou Keïta Prize – Grand Prize of the Rencontres de Bamako of €5,000, awarded by the Malian Ministry of Culture, was won by Athi-Patra Ruga of South Africa.
The BAMAKO ENCOUNTERS remains the foremost international platform dedicated to contemporary photography and new images in Africa.
It continues to be a sustainable platform for discovery, exchanges and interaction – as a meeting place for African photographers and other art professionals from across the world.