Nyaba Léon Ouedraogo was born in 1978 in Bouyounou, Burkina Faso. He belongs to a new generation of African photographers who explore the challenges and living conditions of their contemporaries at the crossroads of Africa. He describes himself as a modern-day griot who tells the stories of an Africa undergoing profound change. His images explore political, economic, sociological, and ecological issues across the African continent, particularly in the western region. Ouédraogo has received several awards, including the European Union Prize at the 9th Bamako Photography Festival in 2011. He was a finalist for the Pictet Prize in 2010, for which he was nominated a second time in 2016. He was a recipient of the 2013 Photography Residencies at the Musée du Quai Branly.