Brooklyn Public Library is proud to be the exclusive US partner with Google Arts & Culture on the Mali Magic project, as BPL Presents rolls out a multi-faceted program of discussions, music and visuals. In this time of historical reckoning, our involvement demonstrates how Africa’s cultural heritage is a vital and much needed living history for our contemporary lives–one that points the way to new narratives of resistance and cultural recognition. Amid historical and ongoing political instability in Mali, the rescued manuscripts serve as a testament to the power and endurance of culture, extending us the opportunity to choose to learn from the past.
Mali Magic gives enhanced visibility to the Malian manuscripts dating back to the 1400s which were salvaged by Dr. Abdel Kader Haidara during the 2012 occupation of Mali by jihadists. SAVAMA, the organization Dr. Haidara directs, continues to preserve these many manuscripts and serve as a steward and interpretive hub for these treasures. Other video content provided by Google Arts & Culture is also made available on this page, encompassing music and educational material. Through Brooklyn Public Library’s BPL Presents and Center for Brooklyn History programs, we provide a sustained engagement with the Mali platform, adding resources, conversations, and cultural programs.
The questions of legacy, archive and history are especially urgent now as we seek to find new pathways out of entrenched struggles, in Mali and beyond. When the Malian manuscripts, monuments, and music come to Brooklyn, they are once again rooted, carrying us from rich historical grounds towards more equitable and visionary perspectives that might help us interpret our present and future.
Mali Magic is generously supported by Tauck Ritzau Innovative Philanthropy and The Morris & Alma Schapiro Fund.
