8th Bamako Encounters Prize Winners announced

On Tuesday 11 November evening the 8th Bamako Encounters announced the prize winners of the African Photography Biennial.

The jury was presided by Malick Sidibé and composed of Els Barents, Director of Huis Marseille, Museum for Photography (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Annie Boulat, Director of Agence Cosmos (Paris, France), Manthia Diawara, Writer, Filmmaker and Scholar (New York, U.S.A.) and John Fleetwood, Director of Market Photo Workshop (Johannesburg, South Africa).

The jury’s selection was guided by three criterias:
- aesthetic qualities of the work,
- the work was assessed solely on the basis of the 8th Bamako Encounters showcase, regardless of artists previous work or achievements,
- it was taken into consideration that photography and video, because of their technical characteristics (still and moving image) called for a different reading grids.

Seven prizes were awarded to eight artists:

The European Union Prize was awarded to South African photographer JODI BIEBER

The Young Talent Prize was awarded by Bolloré Africa Logistics to D.R.C. photographer BAUDOUIN MOUANDA

The Jury Prize was awarded by Culturesfrance to Zimbabwean artist BERRY BICKLE and Chadian photographer ABDOULAYE BARRY

The Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie Prize was awarded to Cameroonian artist GUY WOUETE

The Elan Prize was awarded by Agence Française de Developpement was awarded to Malian photographer SALIF TRAORE

The Casa Africa Prize was awarded to South African photographer ZANELE MUHOLI

The Seydou Keita Grand Prix awarded by the Malian Culture Ministry went to Nigerian photographer UCHE OKPA IROHA.

Nestor Da
Other prizes include:

The Fondation Blachère Prize for Emerging Artist awarded on Monday 9 November to:

Burkina Faso artist NESTOR DA who earns a commission from Fondation Blachère (Apt, France) and a residency at the Arles Photography School (Arles, France).

Other nominees include:

Algerian artist MOHAMED BOUROUISSA
Nigerian photographer UCHE OKPA IROHA
D.R.C photographer BAUDOUIN MOUANDA
South African photographer ZANELE MUHOLI

All five artists will be exhibited at Fondation Blachère and commissioned work for an exhibition produced in partnership with Musée des Confluences (Lyon, France).