Joana Choumali
Abidjan, Lagunes Region, Côte d'Ivoire
Joana Choumali, born in 1974, is visual artist, photographer based in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
She studied graphic arts in Casablanca (Morocco) and worked as an art director in an
advertising agency before embarking on her photography career. She works mainly on
conceptual portraits, mixed media and documentary photography. Much of her work focuses
on Africa, and what she, as an African, learns about the innumerable cultures around her. Her
work allows her to explore the assumptions she has and nurtured her world views. In Abidjan,
Joana has exhibited at the Museum of Civilizations, the Donwahi Foundation for
Contemporary Art, the Rotunda of the Arts, and the Eureka Gallery. Abroad: she exhibited at
the Photoquai Biennale at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, at the Paris Also Known As
Africa Fair, at the Rush Art Gallery in New York, at the 50 Golborne Gallery in London, at
the Biennale Bamako, at the Lagos Photo Festival, at the African Film Festival in Lausanne.
In 2014, she won the POPCAP 14 Award and the Emerging Photographer LensCulture
Award. In 2016, she received the Magnum Emergency Grant Foundation, and the Fourthwall
Books Award in South Africa. In 2017, she exhibited her series "Translation" and "Adorn" at
the Pavilion of the Ivory Coast during the 57th Venice International Biennale. Her work has
been published in the international press: CNN, New York Times, El Pais (Spain), Le Monde,
The Guardian, Forbes Magazine, The Huffington Post, Marie Claire Magazine Australia, Elle
South Africa, Geo Magazine , Le Temps (Switzerland), La Stampa, The Internazionale (Italy)
etc.
Her book "HAABRE", was published and edited in Johannesburg in 2016
2016 - Magnum Foundation Emergency Grant, 2016 - Fourthwall Books Award , 2014 - POPCAP 14 Award, 2014 - Emerging Photographer LensCulture Award