Arts and Culture in Mali, West Africa

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Program Description

This unique field study program allows students to expand their creative facilities in the visual and performing arts while developing cross-cultural understanding, critical thinking, and a foundation for better understanding of both American and Malian culture. Using art as a cross-cultural tool and a means of self-expression, students become familiar with contemporary Malian life which is influenced by ongoing traditions since the 12th century, Islam, the fading but ever close legacy of colonialism, the persistent reality of contemporary neo-colonialism, and the complexity of globalization. By focusing on the intermingling of these traditional and contemporary issues, the Arts and Culture in Mali, West Africa program offers a context within which the student is immersed in the Malian culture and way of life.

The program begins with an orientation in Bamako, Mali's capital and a short trip to Siby, site of the founding of the ancient Mali Empire. During the second week in Bamako, students begin to acquire an understanding of Malian cultural traditions through immersion in homestays and language classes. After a three-week stay in Bamako, the group will travel to the interior of Mali where they become familiar with Malian life outside the capital including visits with artists, artisans and performers.

The heart of the program is the three-week apprenticeship where students will have the unique opportunity to apprentice with an artist, artisan, musician or dancer in accordance with their own particular goals and interests. The apprenticeship is followed by a three-week independent project where students apply what they have learned during their apprenticeship to their own work. The group comes back together for the final week of presentations and group reflection.

The program consists of four courses: Culture and Contemporary Life in Mali, Aesthetic Traditions of Mali, Apprenticeship/Arts Practicum, and French Language Intensive. A total of 16 semester credits will be awarded by Antioch College for completion of this program.

Students have joined us from a wide variety of colleges and universities such as Brevard College, Brown University, Carleton College, the City College of New York, the College of William and Mary, Columbia University, Eastern Michigan University, Florida State University, Goucher College, Hampshire College, Knox College, the Maine College of Art, the Maryland Institute College of Art, Northwestern University, Oberlin College, the University of Missouri at Columbia, the University of the Pacific, West Virginia University, Wesleyan University and Yale University.

Mali:  The Land and its Peoples

The peoples and regions encompassed by today's Republic of Mali boast rich and colorful histories.  Malian oral epics often begin with the Ghana or Wagadu empire (7th-12th c.) of the Soninké people. The decline of this empire and the subsequent dispersion of its people led to the rise of the Mande or Mali empire (1240-1400), known for its famous founder-hero, Sunjata Keita, and for the later emperor Kankou Moussa’s extravagant gold-laden pilgrimage to Mecca. At its height under Askia Mohamed, the Songhoï empire (1465-1591) covered greater territory than any other in the history of West Africa.

With the fall of Songhoï, the era of the great empires came to a close. The Bamana kingdoms of Segu and Kaarta (1640-1861) were conquered by the jihadists Sekou Amadu, who formed the Peul (Fulbe) empire of Massina (1818-62), and El-Hadj Oumar Tall, who established the Tukulor empire (1850-90). The small Senufo kingdom of Kenedugu (1650-1898) remained in power in the south for almost 250 years, and was the last of the Malian states to fall to the French. The French military, arriving in the interior in the 1880s, first defeated the Tukulor empire, and then moved decisively on Samory Toure’s Wasulu empire (1870-98).

In the late nineteenth century, Mali became a French colony, from which it gained independence in 1960. Three post-independence eras followed: Modibo Keita’s socialist regime (1960-68), Moussa Traore’s military rule (1968-91), and the current multi-party democratic era (1991-today).

Since 1992, Mali has had a new Constitution and an elected government. Mali's constitution provides for a multi-party democracy, with the only restriction being a prohibition against parties based on ethnic, religious, regional, or gender lines. Mali has a tripartite system of government consisting of executive, judicial and legislative branches.

Mali's population is comprised of a number of distinct peoples or ethnic groups, including Bamana or Bambara (the largest single group), Maninka or Malinke, Soninke, Khassonke, Peul or Fula, Wasulunke, Bozo, Somono, Dogon, Bobo or Bwa, Senufo, Songhai, Tuareg, and Moorish peoples.  The vast majority of Malians are Muslim, and mosques of all shapes and sizes are found throughout the country.  The official language of Mali is French, but Bamanankan is more widely spoken than any other language. 

The Niger River traverses the country from the savanna in the south to the desert in the north. Mali's Sahelian climate ranges from subtropical to arid.  The rainy season typically begins in June and continues through September to early/mid October. Days are typically hot and humid. The rains have usually stopped by mid-October, and the temperature begins to drop. November to early/mid January is generally regarded as the most pleasant time to be in Mali, as daytime temperatures average in the mid-sixties to eighties degrees Fahrenheit, and nighttime lows can drop to a very refreshing fifties and sixties in some parts. Dust- and sand-laden harmattan winds may arrive in mid to late December.