Ibrahim Mahama

Ibrahim Mahama (GH) is an artist born in 1987 in Tamale, Ghana, who lives and works between Accra and Tamale. After completing his studies in Painting and Sculpture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi (2013), he has developed a practice grounded in material and history, where jute sacks, wood, paper and everyday objects become vessels for the unseen narratives of labour, migration and exchange that define our global condition.

In 2019 he founded the Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA) in Tamale, followed by Red Clay and Nkrumah Volini, contributing significantly to the growth of the contemporary art scene in Ghana. Mahama’s work has been exhibited internationally at venues including Kunsthalle Wien, Kunsthalle Bern, the Barbican Centre, London, Centre Pompidou, Paris, Documenta 14 and the Venice Biennale, among others. In 2025, ArtReview ranked him number one on its Power 100 list of the most influential people in the contemporary art world.

Photo credits: Peter Rosemann. Courtesy of the Artist and APALAZZOGALLERY

SESSION

13:40-14:40 (EN)

IBRAHIM MAHAMA | COLLABORATIVE CANVASES

From his open studio in Tamale, Ghana, Mahama transforms collective labour and everyday materials into monumental architectural works, exposing the enduring legacies of colonialism and the hidden systems that continue to shape global trade, migration, and memory. Through large-scale collaborations, he turns the act of making into powerful social and political gestures. Widely regarded as one of the most influential artists in contemporary art today, Mahama points to new ways forward, suggesting that beauty should be found in justice, collective labour, and historical truth.

Ibrahim Mahama (GH): Artist and Founder, SCCA Tamale

Moderator: Solvej Helweg Ovesen (DK): Curator and Cultural Theorist