New edition. A book of photography revealing a neglected African architectural heritage: village adobe mosques in Mali. Schutyser's b/w photographs, reproduced for this volume in duotone highlight the artistic fusion of architecture and sculpture belonging both to a living tradition and to modernity. Includes a photographic appendix documenting all the principle adobe mosques of the inner Niger Delta with the name of the villages and geographical coordinates. Text by Jean Dethier, Ruth Eaton and Dorothee Gruner. 65 duotone and 520 b/w illustrations. Maps, 187pp, ITALY. FIVE CONTINENTS EDITIONS.

2008 2003 9788874390519 Hardback

In 1978, Patrick McNaughton witnessed a bird dance masquerade in the small town of Dogoduman. He was so affected by this performance that its dazzling artistic power has never left him. As he revisits that very special evening in this study, McNaughton carefully considers the components of the performance, its pace, the performers, and what the entire experience means for understandings of Bamana and West African aesthetics and culture. The performance of virtuoso dancer Sidi Ballo becomes McNaughton's vehicle for understanding the power of individuals in African art and the power of aesthetics as a cultural phenomenon. Topics such as what makes art effective, what makes it good, how production is wrapped in individual virtuosity, and what individual artistry suggests about society reveal how individuals work together to create the indelible experience of outstanding performance. Index, bib, notes, col photos, 300pp, USA. INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS.

New edition. Looks at how the mudcloth initially woven by village women has become a symbol of national and ethnic identity as well as an urban fashion statement and lucrative commodity in the tourist trade and the international art market. 178pp, USA. INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Malick Sidibe gained an international reputation for his documentation of the atmosphere and vitality of Bamako in a period of tremendous cultural change. Soon after Sidibe set up his own studio in 1962 he was highly sought after to photograph all the happening events and ceremonies in Mali, including football matches, weddings, Christmas Eve celebrations and the surprise parties thrown by groups of youths belonging to clubs. The clubs were named after their idols and the styles of western music (Los Cubanos, Les Caids, Les Las Vegas, etc.) which had just started being sold in Bamako. Malian independence brought not only a whiff of liberty and insouciance, but also dreams of Western consumerism and affluence. Sidibe sometimes photographed five events in one night before returning to the lab to develop the negatives. He would then display on the studio walls carefully numbered index prints which were glued on administrative folders. This book contains the facsimile reproductions of these 'chemises'. 168pp, GERMANY. STEIDL VERLAG.

A large format book exploring the way of life and the masquerade ceremonies of the Dogon people of Mali. Well illustrated with colour photographs by Stephenie Hollyman. Index, 176pp, USA. ABRAMS.

2001 0810943735 Hardback

Draws on centuries-old historical manuscripts to document the epic trade journeys to legendary Timbuktu, profiling the city as a major centre of Islamic literary culture and scholarship while offering insight into fifteenth-century perspectives on a wide range of topics, from commerce and taxation to marriage and prostitution. Col illus throughout, index, bib, gloss, 176pp, UK. THAMES & HUDSON.

Explores the meanings embodied in Bamana door locks, objects that are both secular and sacred, art and craft. Large format, b/w ill, refs, bib, xxv, 93pp, USA. HOLMES & MEIER.

Acclaimed for his black-and-white photographs of 1960s youth culture in Bamako, Mali, Malick Sidibe (born 1936) is today the African continent's best-known photographer. Sidibe was recently awarded the Venice Biennale Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement (2007), the first time this award was presented to a photographer, and the Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement (2008), in recognition of his contribution to documentary photography and the historical record. This is a survey of this work, focusing primarily on Sidibe's images of Mali's buzzing youth culture and family life in Bamako in the 1960s and 70s. Laura Serani's foreword contextualizes Sidibe's work in a wider survey of African photography; the book also includes an interview with the photographer by Laura Incardona and an appendix with Sidibe's famous chemises (photographic dossiers), which documents his working methods. 200 b/w photos, 160pp, ITALY. SILVANA EDITORIALE.