Nakunte Diarra

Nakunte Diarra (born c. 1941)[1] is a Malian textile artist, a creator of bògòlanfini.

A member of the Bamana tribe, Diarra learned the basics of creating bògòlanfini from her mother when she was four years old.[1] She has been based in Kolokani for much of her career,[2] but has traveled widely to give workshops and demonstrations of her technique,[3] including spending two weeks at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2003.[4] In 1993 30 of her works were exhibited in an exhibition organized by the Indiana University Art Museum that also traveled to the Fashion Institute of Technology.[1] Her art was the subject of an article, "Nakunte Diarra: Bogolanfini Artist of the Bélédougou", published in the journal African Arts in 1994,[5] and of a DVD produced in 2005.[6] Two pieces by Diarra were commissioned for the collection of the Indiana University Art Museum,[7] while other cloths are owned by the National Museum of African Art,[8] the National Museum of Natural History,[9] and the National Museum of Mali.[4] Diarra's work was represented in the exhibition, "Earth Matters," at the National Museum of African Art in 2014.[10] Diarra was the subject of My Baby,[11] a children's book by Jeanette Winter, featuring a fictional account of the Malian artist as she created mudcloth during her pregnancy for her own child.[12]