Black Lives Matter Artist Grant Exhibition

Artist Profile | Baba Wagué Diakité

Gesso over birchwood and acrylic by Baba Wagué Diakité. Portrait of Thomas Sakura with yellow and lime green background.
Thomas Sankara
2021gesso over birchwood and acrylic
30 x 30 inches
Gesso over birchwood and acrylic by Baba Wagué Diakité. Portrait of Kwame Nkrumah with yellow and lime green background.
Kwame Nkrumah
2021gesso over birchwood and acrylic
30 x 30 inches
Gesso over birchwood and acrylic by Baba Wagué Diakité. Portrait of Amilcar Cabral with orange background.
Amilcar Cabral
2021gesso over birchwood and acrylic
30 x 30 inches
Gesso over birchwood and acrylic by Baba Wagué Diakité. Portrait Ahmed Sekou Touré with orange background.
Ahmed Sekou Touré
2021gesso over birchwood and acrylic
30 x 30 inches
Gesso over birchwood and acrylic by Baba Wagué Diakité. Portrait Mohamed Youssouf Bathily with orange and yellow background.
Mohamed Youssouf Bathily
2021gesso over birchwood and acrylic
30 x 30 inches

About the Artist:

Photograph portrait of Baba Wagué Diakité standing in front of his floral mural.

Baba Wagué Diakité is from Bamako, Mali in West Africa. He has made a living as an artist in the United States since arriving 35 years ago. His artwork speaks to his life and his Malian culture. Through his art, he has been introducing people in the US to different ways of seeing and thinking about life. Diakite primarily paints on ceramics, but he also makes woodcuts, acid-etched prints, bogolanfini (mudcloth) and paints murals—sometimes collaboratively with students or people in the community. He is pleased to have recently finished a large mural for Home Forward's new apartment building, The Louisa Flowers, dedicated to promoting racial equity and pursuing social justice. He has also written and illustrated numerous children's books that have received awards. Diakité is the founder and executive director of the Ko-Falen Cultural Center—a non-profit in the US and Mali, working to promote mutual understanding and respect between people of different cultures through art and education.


WEBSITE: http://babawague.wordpress.com

Additional Work Examples:

Underglazes and glaze on ceramic tile by Baba Wagué Diakité. Portrait of three brothers with varied patterns. The figures are outlined in blue and surrounded by shades of yellow, red, and green.
The Three Brothers2017underglazes and glaze on ceramic tile8 x 12 feet
Acrylic paint on cinder block by Baba Wagué Diakité. Mural of composed of varied patterns and animals in black and white.
Open Middle School mural with students2016acrylic paint on cinderblock12 x 20 feet
Acrylic paint on stucco wall by Baba Wagué Diakité. Mural of a woman breathing out onto nearby greenery.
The Louisa Flowers Housing mural2019-2020acrylic paint on stucco wall12 x 65 feet
Acrylic paint on birch panels by Baba Wagué Diakité. 6 panels unified by a setting with a fish in the foreground, a path with animals and greenery walking in the middle ground and a mountain landscape with the sun and night sky in the background. Each panel shows an animal in the center; from left to right, an owl with a briefcase, a rabbit walking a dog, a fox fishing, a bear with a clipboard, a frog with a closed umbrella accompanied by a mouse in the background, and a deer holding an open umbrella.
Multnomah County Central Courthouse2020acrylic paint on birch panels8 x 25 feet