Tuareg shield & spears collected by
Marceau Gast in Ahaggar, 1950s ;
collection Thierry Tillet
The Tuareg
or Kel Tamasheq
and a history of
the Sahara
The Tuareg or Kel Tamasheq and a history of the Sahara
simon@unicornpress.org / +44 (0) 777 589 1738
“The Tuareg, a rich, startling and important book”
Justin Marozzi
"Captivating photography...a fascinating read and an amazing culture"
Notting Hill Post Mary-Lu Bakker, June 2015
“A beautiful and startling book”
African Banker September 2015
“Sumptuous...more of an historical and anthropological study than a photographic collection per se, but the images are fascinating”
Royal Photographic Society Journal October 2015
“An expert team of contributors shed new light on the Tuareg...this wonderful book reveals a little-known people and their intriguing and vibrant culture”
Outdoor Photography ‘Book of the month’ October 2015
“This particularly vibrant book immerses one in a fascinating desert, traversed by nomadic pastoralists with a long history and language, even if a silence [or isolation] now prevails here”
Translated from La Géographie Jacques Gonzales, Oct/Nov/Dec 2015
“This handsome volume…a series of essays which cover a huge amount of ground…What is most striking is the spell the desert and its people cast on all who come within their reach”
Geographical March 2016
"A compelling illustrated history...the true richness of the book comes when the Tuareg themselves narrate their histories through their oral traditions of poetry and music... An image of people stuck at the heart of regional and international battles for sovereignty, the lingering effects of colonialism, the challenges of religious fundamentalism and environmental damage...The story of the Tuareg is a small slice of the wider, complex politics of the Sahel, essential to our understanding of the migratory routes through the desert to the Mediterranean"
Lacuna Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi, July 2015
Links to press reviews of exhibition:
The Guardian (online) - 26 May 2015
Big Issue - 1st June 2015
Songlines - June 2015
Notting Hill Post - 19th June 2015
Daily Mail (online) - 24th June 2015
The Tuareg, the famed desert nomads - past and contemporary culture and history at a time of crisis. From the travels of remarkable British, French & German explorers to colonisation and Tuareg adaption - against the odds - to the 21st century. Rare historic documents, stunning photography from the 60s to the present, beautiful artefacts, and Tuareg artists and musicians illuminate the Tuareg's Sahara
With the work of Ghoubëid Alojaly, Edmond Bernus,
Suzanne Bernus, Ahmed Boudane, Henrietta Butler, Henri Delord,
Jean-Marc Durou, Atano Handi, Hawad, Rissa Ixa,
Karl-G. Prasse and Francis Rennell Rodd
The Royal Geographical Society, London
2nd - 20th June 2015
The Royal Scottish Geographical Society, Perth
3rd - 26th September 2015
Ondaatje Theatre, Royal Geographical Society
3rd June 2015
English, French & Tuareg academics & authors, Pierre Boilley, Berny Sèbe, Robin Hanbury-Tenison, Adal Rhoubeid and Henrietta Butler discussed Tuareg society and culture and, with regard to Saharan turmoil, Tuareg life today, in the Sahara and elsewhere
Auction & donations
We are thrilled to have raised £2,870 to help educate nomadic Tuareg children in Niger
€2,300 has been given to a school in the Zagado region east of the Aïr mountains. The remainder is held for the Karl G. Prasse École primaire, Amataltal. With the current problems, it is unclear whether this school is still operative. Huge thanks again to winning bidders, and to donors Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Mountgrange Heritage, the Bernus family, Steepes Travel, and David & Amy Parris
The Tuareg band Toumast with Danto Acacusine
The Troubadour Café
4th June 2015
The Paris-based band Toumast, formerly in England at WOMAD 2010, gave a special one-off UK performance at the Troubadour Café Club in London's Earl's Court. They were joined by fellow Tuareg musician, UK based Danto Acacusine. A brilliant evening of powerful blues-y Tuareg rock which depicted the Tuaregs' desert homelands and their love of it, poignant during these troubled times in the Sahara. Moussa ag Keyna (of Toumast), was especially memorable. Resplendent in a stunning Tuareg outfit, he gave a searching, mesmeric performance
Generously Supported by
