Project Highlight: Archive of Malian Photography

Archive of Malian Photography provides access to preserved & digitized collections of five important photographers in Mali.

Since 2011, our collaborative team of US and Malian conservators has been cleaning, scanning, cataloging, and rehousing circa 100,000 photographic negatives from the archives of Mamadou Cissé, Adama Kouyaté, Abdourahmane Sakaly, Malick Sidibé, and Tijani Sitou for long-term preservation and access.

Spanning the 1940s-90s, this collection reveals changes and continuities in political and cultural practices, social trends, and photographic production in Mali during the twentieth century.

While these materials have undergone several review processes, additional revision is expected as the collection grows and distribution images are edited to reflect the original aesthetic. Please contact us if you notice duplications, inconsistencies, or inaccuracies.

*Information courtesy of amp.matrix.msu.edu

A black woman and man smiling and dancing. Photographed on June 1959 in Bamako Mali

two black women posing laying down with flowers. Taken on January 1967, Bourke, Ivory Coast.

Portrait photograph of Black woman with a head wrap. Taken in 1960, Segu, Mali.

Photo of three black men looking at the camera. Taken on January 1967 Bouake, Ivory Coast.

Check out Candace Keller Presentation at Michigan State University’s Global Digital Humanities Symposium, April 2016, MSU Archive of Malian Photography

The following Project Highlight was originally created for the DH@MSU Undergraduate Newsletter and was featured in the February 12, 2024 issue. Subscribe to the Newsletter here.