Maheder Haileselassie Tadese, *Between Yesterday and Tomorrow*, 2024.

The 30th edition of the Bamako Encounters, African Biennale for Photography took place from November ’24 – January ’25 in Bamako, Mali. John Fleetwood (director of Photo: ), served on the jury alongside Akinbode Akinbiyi (renowned photographer), Awa Konate (Assistant Curator Guggenheim Abu Dhabi), and Zaynab O. Odunsi (ATHR Gallery, Saudi Arabia).

Maheder Haileselassie Tadese (Ethiopia) was the grand prize recipient of the Seydou Keita Award for her series ‘Between Yesterday and Tomorrow’. Wilfried Vanie, known as Willow Evann, from Côte d’Ivoire-France, received the Bisi Silva Award for his work ‘Les Tirallés’, while Nigerian photographer Victor Adewale was honored with the third prize for his project ‘Ebí OlOkada’.

In addition to the selected winners, the jury has awarded honorary mentions to Seyba Keita (Mali), Dior Thiam (Senegal-Germany), and Hisham Benohoud (Marocco).

Jury Statement

"We want to first and foremost acknowledge and congratulate all 30 artists for their participation and outstanding work. In deliberating our decision we gave much thought to the role of African photography and how that sits within the context of the continent. The works we were particularly interested in addressed the complexities of memory, storytelling, time, and blurring of temporalities between past, present, and future, as related to this year's theme 'Kuma' — meaning speech."

This year's theme, 'Kuma' (speech), provided a powerful framework for exploring narrative, memory, and temporal relationships through the photographic medium. The selected works demonstrated exceptional ability in addressing these themes while pushing the boundaries of contemporary African photography.

“Photo: extends its warmest congratulations to all participants and recipients of this milestone edition of the Bamako Encounters. Their work continues to shape and redefine the landscape of African photography, contributing to the rich dialogue between past, present, and future through the power of the image.”

Dior Thiam, *Wandering Desert Traces: Do You Remember the Sand*, installation view.

Posted on 12 February 2025

30th Bamako Encounters: A Celebration of the African Photography Biennale