Malick Sidibé (1936 - )
Malick Sidibé is born in Soloba in southern Mali. In 1952, his talent for drawing brought him to the National Art Institute in Bamako, where he studied to become a jeweller. In 1956, he bought his first camera, a Brownie Flash, and learnt photography with the French photographer Gérard Guillat in Bamako.

In 1962 he opened his own Studio Malick in Bamako's popular Bagadadji quarter, where he is still working. In 1957 he also started reparing cameras.

Until the end of the 1970s he made a lot of black and white reportage photographs of Bamako nightlife as well as humorous, personal portraits. He is still doing portraits and recently he started to photograph his models from the rear. Received the Hasselblad Award in 2003 and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2007.

• See some of Malick Sidibé's photos