Michel Kameni
Portraits of an Independent Africa
Curatorial Assistance // Smith College Museum of Art
August 29, 2025-January 4, 2026
This exhibition features portraits by the Cameroonian studio photographer Michel Kameni (c.1935–2020) made at Studio KM in Yaoundé. The 55 prints featured were made during the 1960s and 1970s in the years following Cameroon’s independence. From its founding in 1963, Studio KM attracted a cross-section of society. As a photographer, Kameni was particularly good at depicting the aspirations of the people who entered his studio. He collaborated with them to craft evocative nyanga (boasting, or bragging) photographs: images to send friends and loved ones or to document important relationships, events, or milestones.