"Celebrated as one of the most outstanding 20th-century photographers, Keïta ran a photography studio in the Malian capital, Bamako, between the late 1940s and early 1960s, where he shot black and white portraits of fashionably dressed people, with the patterned backdrops that he is perhaps best known for. He also documented the social and political landscape in pre- and post-independence Mali. That work was introduced to the West in the early 1990s, first anonymously in New York and then later identified, in group and solo exhibitions"
"During the Mali trip, McKinley had extensive conversations with members of the artist's extended family, who showed her his archive, which in turn became their contribution of previously unseen material, photos, and other items in their possession. ' Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens', billed as the most extensive North American presentation of the artist, is now open at the Brooklyn Museum, and includes almost 275 works, including portraits, rare images, and never-before-seen negatives, textiles, jewellery, dresses, and the artist's personal items."
"Keïta's family also put McKinley in touch with a surviving sitter of the artist, whose interview will be on view in the Brooklyn Museum exhibition. 'It's a real range in terms of size, format, and exposure,' says McKinley, who organised the exhibition with Imani Williford, curatorial assistant of Photography, Fashion, and Material Culture at the Brooklyn Museum. 'I think what strikes me the most is that we've kind of really just begun to look at Keïta in particular,"
In April 2024 Catherine E McKinley travelled to Mali to meet the family of Seydou Keïta and to invite their participation in an exhibition. Family members showed McKinley Keïta's archive and contributed previously unseen material, photographs, negatives, textiles, jewellery, dresses, and personal items. The Brooklyn Museum presentation, Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens, includes almost 275 works, including portraits, rare images, and never-before-seen negatives. Keïta's family connected McKinley with a surviving sitter whose interview will appear in the exhibition. Curators present the show as broadening attention to Keïta and repositioning African photography within global photographic history.
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