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 Pompidou, Paris, France
Art Institute, Chicago, USA
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
The Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, USA
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, Australia
Art Collection of the United States Embassy
The Art Museum, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland USA
Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama, USA
Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, New York, USA
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, USA
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
International Center of Photography, New York, USA
Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University, California, USA
LaSalle Bank, Chicago, USA
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA
The Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, USA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania, USA
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California, USA
The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, USA
C.A.A.C.-The Jean Pigozzi Collection, Genève, Suisse
Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris, France
Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France
Fondation Alliances, Casablanca, Morocco
Fonds de dotation agnès.b, Paris, France
Pas-Chaudoir Art Collection, Belgique
Contemporary Art and Photography, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA
