The Department of French at UVa (in collaboration with our colleagues at Georgetown) is delighted to present a talk by one of Senegal's most exciting young photographers, Ibrahima Thiam. A self-taught artist from Saint Louis, Thiam has exhibited his work throughout Africa, Europe, and the United States. His portraiture, street photography, and experimental compositions ask probing questions about the ways the past resurfaces (if it ever went away at all) in the present. He is especially interested in the history of African photography, colonial archives, orality and tradition, and photography's capacity to speak to personal and collective history and, even, to heal.

Ibrahima Thiam's talk asks, in the artist's own words: "Comment pouvons-nous imaginer notre futur dans une perspective précoloniale ?

Nous prenons le concept de l’imaginaire comme point de départ pour repenser les réalités et décoloniser la mémoire.  Revisiter les sources et les ressources précoloniales (histoire orale, savoir traditionnels et spirituels.) pour questionner le temps proche ou lointain pour mieux comprendre le passé et réinventer le futur."

This event is sponsored by the Department of French at UVa, friends in the Department of French at Georgetown (Prof. Johann Le Guelte, especially), and the UVa Center of Excellence of the French Embassy.