Born in 1935 in Soloba, Mali
Died in April 14th, 2016 in Bamako, Mali, where he lived and worked
Malick Sidibé was born in a Peul family in a small village of Mali. He was noticed for his talent as a draftsman and was admitted to the School of Sudanese Craftsmen in Bamako from which he graduated in 1955. He decorated the "Photo Service" store of Gerard Guillat, also known as "Gégé la Pellicule", who offered him a job as his apprentice. That's how he got started in photography in 1956. Two years later, he opened the "Studio Malick" in the centre of Bamako in Bagadadji, on 30th Street, Corner I9. The wildness of the 1950's and the upcoming of Independence gave birth to a new generation of photographers who were totally involved in the cultural and social life that they recorded. Malick Sidibé, a pivotal character in this scene, was highly appreciated by young people and was invited to all the parties the youth organized in clubs, where they learned the new dances coming from Europe and Cuba, and dressed elegantly in Western clothes.
In 1957 he was the only reporter in Bamako who covered all the events, festivities and surprise-parties. On Saturdays, these parties lasted until dawn and continued on Sunday on the banks of the river Niger. This on-the-spot coverage provided simple pictures, full of truth and complicity. Spontaneity emerges from his photos: he captured the playful partying, full of laughter and life. He quit this activity in 1978, but continued his studio photography. His work has now gained an international recognition thanks to dozens of exhibition worldwide, the last one being the great retrospective "Mali Twist" in 2017 at the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain curated by André Magnin and Brigitte Ollier. He has also received numerous awards, among which the Gold Lion of the 52e Biennal di Venezia, he was the first African Artist to receive such a tribute.
Collections
Centre Georges-Pompidou, Paris, France
Art Institute, Chicago, USA
Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, USA
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, USA
Musée d'Art Moderne de la ville de Paris (MAM), France
Musée Nicéphore Niépce, Chalon-sur-Saône, France
QAGOMA - Queensland Art Gallery, Australie
Art Collection of the United States Embassy
The Art Museum, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland
Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama
Brooklyn Museum, New York
The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, New York The Getty Museum, Los Angeles
High Museum of Art, Atlanta
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
International Center of Photography, New York
Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University, California
LaSalle Bank, Chicago
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
The Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California
The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
C.A.A.C.-The Jean Pigozzi Collection, Geneva, Switzerland
Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, Paris, France
Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France
Fondation Alliances, Casablanca, Maroc
Collection agnès.b, Paris, France
Fond de dotation agnès.b, Paris, France
