Malick Sidibé

Here two Muslim men dressed in boubous, garments associated with West Africa, pose proudly against patterned fabric. Malick Sidibé was a popular Malian photographer in the decades after 1950, and his studio was frequented by customers of all ages and backgrounds. Mali has been Muslim-majority for centuries, and is still home to ethnic and Indigenous groups, such as the Bambara, Fulani, and Tuaregs. Sidibé’s subjects thus wore styles from traditional garments to trendy bell-bottomed pants and flaring skirts. Recent Malian history is marked by both cultural tolerance and political upheaval. After French colonization ended in 1960, Mali’s leaders instituted a range of governmental systems, with some groups now pressing for nationwide Shari’a law.