A mural now stands on the back wall of the French Institute of Mali, in Bamako. A work done by a collective of painters. The work lasted about ten days. The restitution took place on Friday, May 5th.
The eyes of President Modibo Keita are now fixed indelibly on his native district of Bamako-coura: the portrait of the first president of Mali is painted in the small street 371, on the back wall of the French Institute of Bamako, a commercial alley. Alongside this masterpiece, many other portraits rub shoulders on this first mural in the Malian capital.
Many guests came to attend this restitution : the head of the district of Bamako-coura, the Mayor of the commune three, the person in charge of the political affairs of the embassy of France in Mali, the Director of the French Institute, as well as artists and the population of the said district. All were present to magnify these artistic works.
According to the Director of the IFM, this art of modern fresco is done in the neighborhood to encourage the population (and especially young people) to take a look inside the institute, ” it’s a way of inviting them to access the institute to see these beautiful cultural shows that we do ” did she say.
In their successive speeches, the head of the district and the Mayor of the commune, quite simply appreciated this beautiful art at its fair value. For them, it will give a magnificent shine to the neighborhood and it highlights an artistic look that will produce other artists within the population.
Mural
The mural is a monumental painting whose support is an interior or exterior wall, a vault or a ceiling, as opposed to the easel painting which has a canvas as a support and which is transportable. The painter who specializes in the art of the mural fresco is called “muralist painter”. The fresco is an important historical technique of mural painting in which the artist applies the color very quickly on a still fresh lime plaster, technique called ” in fresh » an Italian.
A dozen Malian and French painters produced this first mural fresco in Bamako. Let us pay tribute to Ibrahim Ballo, Massira Touré, Ibrahim Kebe, Dramane Let’s Talk, Mariam KimbiriDramane Diarra, Harry Mensah, And Habibatou KeitaLight Fra-M’ so, Sebastien BouchardLassine Traore and Abdoulaye Keita.
In her speech, the spokesperson for the artists, Massira Touré, praised the solidarity offered by the population of the neighborhood during these 10 days of work.
« It was a school of learning to do our artistic work in front of the population. It was also a way of showing people our artistic know-how. she hammered.
« This mural is the symbol of the integration of the French Institute in its district. I thank the authorities and the population of Bamako-coura for hosting the IFM for more than thirty years ” said Mr. Marc Didio, Political Affairs Officer at the French Embassy in Mali. For him, this work symbolizes integration but also the openness of the IFM to local populations, ” I hope that the passers-by who will contemplate this work, will be dredged to encourage them to enter it, to go inside the IFM to attend the cultural events that are organized there he clarified.
The French diplomat then invited young artists to persevere in this art of modern fresco, which is beginning to have success in Mali. He believes that the young artists will set an example for the country, by making the mural known worldwide.
«I would like to acknowledge here the presence of Sébastien Bouchard, who traveled from France to Mali. He embodies this link that exists between our populations and which leads, thanks to this cooperation, by making his talent available, on something concrete, tangible, visible. I believe that, if there are things to rebuild in the relationship between France and Mali, it can be done thanks to its youth and its population, through very concrete achievements. I believe in grassroots diplomacy and this mural is one of the manifestations of grassroots diplomacy clarified Marc Didio. May the future prove him right!
