The guest is Portland ceramic artist and painter, Baba Wague, who was born in Bamako, Mali in West Africa.
Baba Wague has made regular trips returning to Mali for extended stays over the many years he has lived in Portland. He is founder and director of the Ko-Falen Cultural Center in Bamako, Mali, which enables artists and travelers from other countries to live, meet, study and collaborate with artists of Mali. The Ko-Falen Cultural Center encourages cross-cultural exchanges through art, dance, music and ceremony to promote a greater understanding and respect between people. Ko-Falen also manages education programs for youth of artisans in Mali. Visit www.ko-falen.org for more information.
A current project of the center links a Malian high school class learning English with an American class learning French. They are exchanging poetry written in their 2nd language (actually for the Malians their 3rd or 4th language).
Baba Wague recently returned from an extended trip to his homeland. In this interview he talks about the war in Mali, the people he spoke with while he was there, their struggles, and the differences between what he learned from the people and and what newspapers are reporting about Mali.
- KBOO