- Title: MALI: Painter uses his art to inspire the youth
- Date: 8th April 2011
- Summary: BAMAKO, MALI (RECENT) (REUTERS) BAMAKO INDEPENDENCE MONUMENT AT DAWN EXTERIOR OF THE FRENCH CULTURAL CENTRE
- Embargoed: 23rd April 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Mali, Mali
- Country: Mali
- Reuters ID: LVA6PPK1FM610QI51748U6OBQEJJ
- Story Text: For artists all over the world, the opportunity to showcase work to an international audience is a chance of a life time.
For 38-year-old Malian artist, Kader Keita, it is an opportunity he has waited years to reach.
Keita makes a living as a traditional bogolan artist, an ancient Malian style of handicraft that involves taking locally woven cotton and soaking it in leaves and bark dyes and then using it as a canvas to create intricate designs on.
His work is being exhibited at the French Cultural Centre in the capital Bamako this month.
At the centre of the exhibition is his latest paintings which incorporate traditional bogolan art with more modern techniques, creating a pastiche of old and new styles.
It's a technique that has not only gained him attention in Malian art circles but among artists and students as far away as America.
American painter Vic Decker learnt about Keita's work when he was studying Mali's world famous art and music traditions.
Both artists are now working together to teach each other new ways to work.
"I learned a lot of things from him as he did from me reciprocally, because we work with different techniques, so it was a real cultural exchange between us," Keita said.
By taking Malian traditional painting and crafts and putting them in a contemporary setting, Keita says he hopes to revive a connection between Bamako's modern art scene and the country's historical traditions.
Most who came to see his work seemed to be impressed by what they found.
"I don't know much about painting, but nevertheless I like it. There is something appealing in it, that attracts me," said Aissata Keita, a visitor to the exhibition.
At home, Keita is constantly creating new work, and takes the opportunity to show Decker some of his techniques.
"Texture-wise, if you look at this painting you can see textures that can't be reached by oil - and that and the fact that its from the ground, that it's natural, was extremely interesting for me," said Decker.
When Keita is not painting, he can be found at the Kanuya centre, where he holds workshops for disadvantaged children, teaching them how to paint and the art of Bogolan.
Keita, who comes from a family of artists says that he feels a strong sense of responsibility, and that it's very important to pass on the skills he has learnt to next generation.
"The goal of this training is to introduce painting to these kids, and once they learn a technique and have the support, it's easy for them to sit and apply what they have learned," he said.
The artist says his own experience with polio as a child gave him an insight into what its like to have a disability which is what inspired him to work with disadvantaged children.
He says art is one of the best ways these children have to express themselves and feel connected to the world in which they live. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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