Exhibitions | Museum of the African Diaspora

This exhibition, which grew out of the biennial photography festival hosted in venues throughout Bamako, Mali is comprised of photographs taken all over the African continent. In keeping with the multi-venue presentation in Mali, MoAD is collaborating with a diverse group of Bay Area venues to present this stunning work to the broadest of audiences.

The exhibition is organized by international curator Simon Njami and features the work of 22 photographers from the 2005 Bamako Biennale. San Francisco’s African American Art and Culture Complex located in the Western Additionneighborhood will present the work of photographers Akinbode Akinbiyi (Nigeria) and David Damoison (Martinique/France). These same photographers have worked with the youth of the Western Addition to photographically and journalistically record their own experiences in the Images Speak Words workshop as part of I’ve Known Rivers—MoAD’s online story project. (http://www.iveknownrivers.org/)

The Women’s Building in the Mission District hosted artist Myriam Mihindou (Gabon) who

used her artist’s residency as a means to photograph the myriad community of people

who use this prominent San Francisco facility. That same venue will host a presentation

of her work throughout the exhibition. An additional exhibition of work by Ananias Léki

Dago (Ivory Coast) will be displayed at San Francisco City Hall alongside the work of

Bay Area photographers Bayeté Ross Smith and Lewis Watts. The exhibition at City Hall

is organized by the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery and PhotoAlliance.

Lens on Life: From Bamako to San Francisco is organized by The Museum of the African Diaspora.

Lens on Life: From Bamako to San Francisco is sponsored by Citibank, Community Technology Foundation of California and the Walter and Elise Haas Fund. Additional support provided by the Peter Norton Family Foundation, PG&E, Consulate General of France in San Francisco, and CulturesFrance.