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The Malian photographer, Malick Sidib\\xe9, is one of Africa\\u2019s most celebrated artists. His most famous photographs show black and white scenes of young people partying in the capital Bamako in the joyful, confident era after Mali got its independence from France in 1960. In the 1990s, a chance encounter with a French curator brought Sidib\\xe9\\u2019s work international acclaim. The wider world had been used to seeing a narrow range of images from Africa, so when Sidib\\xe9\\u2019s work went up on show in Western art galleries, audiences were stunned by the exuberant world they revealed. Viv Jones talks to someone who knew Sidib\\xe9 back when he was a roving nightlife photographer - Manthia Diawara, Malian filmmaker and Professor at New York University.

(Photo: Malick Sidib\\xe9. Photo by BILLY FARRELL/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)