Editing Bamako (section)

==Culture==
The [[National Library of Mali]] was first created by the [[Institut Français d'Afrique Noire]], an arm of the French colonial government, in 1944. Following Mali's 1960 independence, this library became the Government Library; it would later be renamed again as the National Library of Mali. In 1968, the library was transferred from its initial home in Koulouba to Ouolofobougou, a section of Bamako. The library holds more than 60,000 works, including books, periodicals, audio documents, videos, and software. These materials are available free to the public, though a small subscription fee is required for borrowing privileges. The library also hosts some of the exhibits for [[African Photography Encounters]], a biannual Bamako photography festival.

[[File:Musee Nationale du Mali.jpg|thumb|right|The [[National Museum of Mali]] buildings, designed by architect [[Jean-Loup Pivin]]]]

The [[National Museum of Mali]] is an archeological and anthropological museum, presenting permanent and temporary exhibits on the prehistory of Mali, as well as the musical instruments, dress, and ritual objects associated with Mali's various [[ethnic group]]s. The National Museum began under French rule as the Sudanese Museum, part of the [[Institut Français d'Afrique Noire]] (IFAN) under [[Théodore Monod]]. It was opened on 14 February 1953, under the direction of [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] archeologist [[Yuriy Shumovskyi]]. Shumovskyi had worked in the museum for nine years, gathering half (nearly 3,000) of today's finds. The museum also houses indoor and outdoor exhibitions of works by local artists.
[[File:BamakoMuseum.jpg|thumb|Artist display at Bamako Museum depicting life in Mali]]

With the independence of the Republic of Mali in 1960, the Sudanese Museum became the National Museum of Mali, with the new objectives of promoting national unity and celebrating Malian traditional culture. However, lack of financial means and absence of qualified personnel caused some deterioration in the museum's collections. On 30 March 1956, the National Museum moved into a new [[cement]]ed structure, created by architect [[Jean-Loup Pivin]] from traditional Malian designs. Since the 1996 election of former archaeologist [[Alpha Oumar Konaré]] to Mali's presidency, the museum's funding has increased considerably, becoming among the best in West Africa. The museum often hosts part of the biannual [[African Photography Encounters]], photography festival held in Bamako since 1994.

Also of note is the [[Muso Kunda Museum]], the [[Bamako Regional Museum]], [[Bamako Zoo]], the [[Bamako Botanical Gardens]], the National Conference Center Tower (NCC), the Souvenir Pyramid, the Independence Monument, Al Quoods Monument, the triangular ''Monument de la paix'', the Hamdallaye obelisk, the Modibo Keita Memorial and many other monuments, the [[Palais de la Culture Amadou Hampaté Ba]] and the [[Point G]] hill, containing caves with [[Rock art|rock paintings]].

In 1988, Bamako was the location of a [[World Health Organization|WHO]] conference known as the [[Bamako Initiative]] that helped reshape health policy of [[sub-Saharan Africa]]. The yearly held [[Budapest-Bamako]] rally has the endpoint in Bamako, with the [[Dakar Rally]] often passing through Bamako.

===Music===
A music boom in Bamako took off in the 1990s, when vocalist [[Salif Keita]] and singer-guitarist [[Ali Farka Touré]] achieved international fame.<ref name="NYT 06">{{cite web|author=Hammer, Joshua |url=http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/travel/02mali.html?ex=1144641600&en=5d9d61a127019b74&ei=5070&emc=eta1/ |title=The Siren Song of Mali |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2 April 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311121110/http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/travel/02mali.html?ex=1144641600&en=5d9d61a127019b74&ei=5070&emc=eta1%2F |archive-date=11 March 2007 }}</ref> It attracted a number of tourists, record producers, and aspiring musicians to the city to try to follow in their footsteps. It is common to see musicians in the streets with ''[[djembe]]s'' and percussion bands playing traditional Bamana rhythms.<ref name="NYT 06" />