Abdoulaye Konaté

Abdoulaye Konaté ( born 1953 in Diré in Mali ) is a Malian artist who is well known for its textile installations.

Life and work

Konaté studied painting at the Institut National des Arts ( INA) in Bamako and continued his studies at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana continued. After graduation, he worked as a graphic designer at the Musée National du Mali in Bamako. In 1998 he was appointed director of the Culture Palace of Bamako. He was appointed a Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2002.

Konaté began his artistic career as a painter, but soon changed to installation art. His work can be read as a direct comments to social and environmental problems in Africa. Among other things, he was concerned with the spread of the Sahel and later with the AIDS epidemic. Important exhibitions Konate were the traveling exhibition Africa Remix (2004-2007) and the documenta 12 in Kassel (2007), where his textile installation Gris -Gris pour Israël et la Palestine was shown.

Konaté lives in Bamako where he is director of the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers Multimedia.