The 15th edition of the Bamako Encounters – African Biennale of Photography will open on 26 November 2026 in Mali’s capital, Bamako, under the curatorship of independent curator Armelle Dakouo. Entitled “Refabulation(s)”, the biennale will run until 26 January 2027 and explores how African narratives can be reimagined through a postcolonial perspective.
Widely regarded as the leading international event dedicated to contemporary African photography, the Bamako Encounters was established in 1994 and brings together artists from across the African continent, the African diaspora and Afro-descendant communities. The 2026 edition will be the first to take place under the biennale’s new institutional framework and marks the beginning of its 30th anniversary cycle.
The curatorial proposal highlights the role of contemporary photography in reconstructing images and narratives about Africa, questioning documentary records produced during the colonial era while promoting new forms of representation and collective memory.
In her curatorial statement, Armelle Dakouo describes “refabulation” as an act of creation and transformation:
“Paradoxically, ‘refabulation’ makes it possible to construct or create new possibilities. The inventiveness of ‘refabulations’ expands our ability to offer another reading of the world, to embrace critical thinking, to discover different perspectives, and to address the weaknesses, absences and gaps in dominant narratives. It is an invitation extended to photographers from the African continent, its diaspora and Afro-descendant communities to engage with the issues that concern and affect us, while expanding reflection on the power of imagination through the creative force of artistic photography.”
Organised by Mali’s Ministry of Crafts, Culture, Hospitality and Tourism, the Bamako Encounters continues to affirm its position as one of the most important platforms for showcasing and debating contemporary African photography.
