Sammy Baloji

Born in 1978 in Lubumbashi, in the mineral-rich Katanga province of Democratic Republic of Congo. He studied Computer and Information Sciences and Communication at the University of Lubumbashi, where he currently lives.

He has exhibited widely in Africa and in Europe, including shows at the Musée du quai Branly, Paris, and the Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium. In Canada, Baloji was featured at Mois de la Photo, Montreal, Canada (2009). In the UK, he exhibited at the Tate Modern Gallery (2011). His first solo museum show in the US, The Beautiful Time in Lubumbashi: Photography by Sammy Baloji, was curated by Bogumil Jewsiewicki and organized by the Museum for African Art, New York in 2010.
He was a finalist for the Prix Pictet in 2009, a recipient of the Prince Claus Award in 2008, and received two awards at the 2007 African Photography Biennial in Bamako, Mali. In 2012, he received the Spiegel Price Award (Belgium) and was nominated for the « Prix de la découverte » at Arles Encounters (France). He founded the Lubumbashi Biennal, Picha Encounters (opening its third edition in October 2013).