Ibrahim Mahama Opens London Exhibitions While Expanding Redistribution Philosophy Through Ghanaian Institutions
Ibrahim Mahama, a Ghanaian artist celebrated at the 2015 Venice Biennale under the curation of Okwui Enwezor, is currently showcasing two exhibitions in London. At Sessions Arts Club, his pieces include oil-drenched transport canvases and photographs depicting laborers' arms. Meanwhile, Ibraaz presents an installation featuring railway wood and chairs manufactured in Britain, exploring themes of collective memory, trade, migration, and the impacts of colonialism. Mahama established the Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art, Red Clay Studio, and Nkrumah Volini in Tamale, Ghana, to redistribute art income for cultural development. His contribution to the Barbican's Purple Hibiscus intervention in 2024 reflects local communities and has faced public opposition. He is also set to participate in the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in India, beginning December 12, 2025. His exhibitions will continue until early 2026, and he has been ranked first on ArtReview's Power 100 list.
Key facts
- Ibrahim Mahama has two concurrent London exhibitions: at Sessions Arts Club and Ibraaz.
- His work uses materials like jute sacking, railway wood, and oil-soaked transport canvases.
- Mahama founded SCCA, Red Clay Studio, and Nkrumah Volini in Tamale, Ghana, to redistribute art income.
- He participated in the 2015 Venice Biennale curated by Okwui Enwezor.
- Mahama's Barbican intervention Purple Hibiscus in 2024 faced some public protest.
- He will exhibit at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale from December 12, 2025, to March 31, 2026.
- Mahama ranks first on ArtReview's 2025 Power 100 list.
- His work explores colonial history, trade, labor, and collective memory in Africa.
Entities
Artists
- Ibrahim Mahama
- Okwui Enwezor
- Tracey Emin
- Antony Gormley
- Amoako Boafo
- Kąrî’kạchä Seid’ou
- Kwame Nkrumah
- Galle Winston Kofi Dawson
- Bernard Akoi-Jackson
- Selom Kudjie
- Michael Armitage
- Zanele Muholi
- Barthélémy Toguo
- Renzo Martens
- Fela Kuti
- Chinua Achebe
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Vladimir Nabokov
- Lord Byron
- Azu Nwagbogu
Institutions
- Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA)
- Red Clay Studio
- Nkrumah Volini
- Sessions Arts Club
- Ibraaz
- Barbican
- Venice Biennale
- ArtReview
- KNUST University
- blaxTARLINES collective
- Food Distribution Corporation
- Former Food Distribution Corporation
- Non-Aligned Movement
- National Arts Council
- Tate
- Kochi-Muziris Biennale
- Karl Marx Library
- White Cube
- Savannah Contemporary Art Centre (SCCA)
- Blaxtarlines
- Documenta
- Lagos Photo Festival
- Lubumbashi Biennale
- Congolese Plantation Workers Art League (CATPC)
- African Artists' Foundation (AAF) Lagos
- Centre for Contemporary Art Lagos
- Zeitz MOCAA
- Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art
- Sotheby's
- Lever Brothers
- Unilever
- BBC
- Artreview
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Tamale
- Ghana
- Venice
- Italy
- Clerkenwell
- Singapore
- Malaysia
- India
- Bangladesh
- Kochi
- Cuba
- Soviet Union
- Czechoslovakia
- Yugoslavia
- Poland
- Russia
- Vietnam
- Accra
- Lusanga
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Congo
- Hong Kong
- China
- Lagos
- Nigeria
- Burkina Faso
- United States
- Europe
- Africa