Afro-Futures

Location: Dakar, Senegal
Date: January 2019
Photographer: Jason Buchea
Home Country: United States
University Affiliation: Graduate Student
Category: People
Award: Honorable Mention

In the artist's on words: "Singer Baaba Maal fixes his gaze in the distance as his rich and pensive voice calls out the opening notes of his song "Wango", a eulogy for a fallen king, which was used as the theme song for the Afrofuturist blockbuster Black Panther. An artist and UN Cultural Emissary, Baaba Maal draws upon his deep roots in Pulaar traditional culture to express his vision and hopes for a radiant African future. For me, this photo really channels the melancholy tones of colonization and a sense of longing for a past, while faithfully looking to the horizon for the assurance of a new day. I can not look at it without hearing the song. Photo taken during a concert in Dakar on New Year's Eve, 2019."