Antoine Tempé

Who is Antoine Tempé?

Antoine Tempé is a French born photographer who has done works in New York City, West Africa and France. He is mostly known for his studio shots of African dancers and for his portraits of African artists and intellectuals.

Tempe studied business in France and moved to New York to work as a trader in 1984. He also continued training as a dancer. He began his work as an amateur photographer in 1989, but by 1991 was spending about half his time in photographer. He became a full-time photographer in 2000.

His images, in the form of large, carefully executed, black-and-white photographic prints that often measure up to 4 feet in height, have been exhibited in Europe, the U.S. and Africa. His work has been featured in magazines such as Photo Magazine, Le Monde 2 and Libération, among others. He wrote, with the choreographer Salia Sanou, of Afrique, danse contemporaine.