Introduction to Ibrahim Mahama
A rough linen sack brought Ibrahim Mahama to world fame. In 2015, when Mahama was in his late 20s and completing his PhD in Fine Arts in Ghana, he was selected to take part in one of the most important art festivals in the world, the Venice Biennale.
Breakthrough at the Venice Biennale
In his installation there, “Out of Bounds,” he combined sewn-together burlap sacks—made in Southeast Asia that were used to export Ghanaian cocoa beans to the West—with knotted ropes and metal pendants, creating a vast patchwork of material that he draped over a long medieval wharf corridor. The immersive corridor, which touched on labor, exploitation, colonial legacies and global trade, brought Mahama international recognition, prestigious gallery representation and, over time, financial success, which he used to transform the artistic landscape in Ghana.
Recognition as a Leading Artist
His approach as an artist driving change has led to him being recognized as one of the world’s most important artists. At the beginning of December, he took first place on the Power 100 list, a prestigious ranking of the world’s most influential artists – the first African to top the list. Mahama described reaching the top spot as “quite humbling”. He sees himself and his achievements as part of something larger, as a sustainable movement of artists and curators from the Global South that is shifting power in the art world away from the West, where it has long been concentrated.
Early Life and Education
Collectivity is at the heart of everything Mahama does. Mahama attributes this to his childhood. He was born in 1987 in Tamale, northern Ghana, into a polygamous family; his father had four wives, ten biological children and many non-biological children. The large family taught Mahama the importance of equality and redistribution. As a child, Mahama drew comics and made collages and bought art supplies with his pocket money. His family supported his artistic interests and his art studies at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, which were formative for him.
Artistic Approach and Materials
From discarded, worn and grease-covered burlap sacks to decommissioned trains and planes to abandoned grain silos, the materials and spaces Mahama works with are “negotiated” – sourced and acquired for the value they contain in terms of memory and meaning. Mahama often works with workers, farmers, artisans and street vendors to find and rework objects. In his burlap installations, which have been shown in Germany, Italy, North Macedonia and the United Kingdom, among other places, multiple teams of people sew the sacks together and often later attach the resulting fabric over large buildings and structures.
Giving Back to Ghana
Despite – or perhaps thanks to – his international fame, he remains firmly rooted in Ghana, where he is working to redefine the way people engage with art and even the meaning of art itself. The capital generated from his artistic success has become a “kind of new material,” he explained, “which can also generate a new, more communal discourse.” That’s what he hopes to accomplish with the three art institutions he founded in his birthplace of Tamale: the Savannah Center for Contemporary Arts (SCCA), an artist-run exhibition space; Red Clay Studio, an open studio; and Nkrumah Volini, an institution for “archaeological memory.”
Empowering the Next Generation
Together with colleagues from the University of Ghana, Mahama is currently working to open an independent art school in Tamale that will be linked to his other institutions. “One of the things we hope is that the work we are doing will create a new generation that has a different sense of cultural sensibilities,” Mahama said. He hopes that young people will be able to recognize the memories contained in the objects and spaces around them – and then learn from them to create a different future. “Remaking the world is, in my opinion, the most important gift humanity can have.”
