Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama has begun a research residency at the University of the Free State (UFS), bringing his internationally acclaimed artistic practice and distinctive approach to materials, history and community engagement to the university. 

A sack once used to carry grain across West Africa's trade routes; a blackboard retired from a rural classroom. In the hands of Ibrahim Mahama, ordinary discarded objects become vessels for extraordinary histories. This month, these ideas take centre stage at the University of the Free State International Institute of the Arts (IIA). 

The IIA is hosting the acclaimed for a research residency from 17 to 23 August 2026. Mahama, who became the first African artist to top ArtReview's influential Power 100 list, joins the university as its newest Research Fellow, a position he took up earlier this year.

Prof Alexander Johnson, Director of the IIA, says the residency marks an important moment for the institute. 

"This residency marks an important moment for the institute, as we continue to strengthen global artistic dialogue while advancing the university's commitment to shaping responsible societal futures through critical knowledge and creative practice," he says.

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies), who co-hosted the launch of his residency in a conversation with Mahama, says, “We are privileged to host an internationally acclaimed artist and cultural leader. His visionary work transforms everyday materials into powerful reflections on history, labour, migration, and human experience. Mahama is an institutional builder whose work demonstrates how globally significant work can emerge from places often considered peripheral.”

A relationship years in the making

Mahama's relationship with the UFS dates back to 2024, when he first visited the Department of Fine Arts. Since then, staff exchanges with his Red Clay Studio in Tamale, Ghana, have deepened the relationship. Members of the department have undertaken residencies at Red Clay, while Mahama's team has visited Bloemfontein and contributed to a second-year Land Art project. 

Prof Adelheid von Maltitz of the Department of Fine Arts, who is hosting the residency, says this year's visit builds on an established relationship rather than a one-off engagement. She also highlights Mahama's generosity as a defining feature of their collaboration. 

"What makes Ibrahim especially inspiring to me is that, despite the international significance of his career and artistic practice, he remains an extremely generous and humble person. He is deeply invested in Africa and in using his position as an artist to create meaningful change, particularly within communities that have historically had limited access to artistic and cultural opportunities," she says.

Materials that carry history

Working between Accra and Tamale, Mahama creates monumental installations from jute sacks, timber, paper documents and other remnants of everyday and industrial life. Through these materials, he explores histories of labour, migration and trade that might otherwise remain overlooked. 

"I am interested in how crisis and failure are absorbed into this material, with a strong reference to global transactions and how capitalist structures work," he explains.

His practice extends beyond the studio. Mahama has founded major cultural institutions in northern Ghana, including the Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art, Red Clay Studio, and Nkrumah Volini - a converted grain silo now used for education and exhibitions. 

A week of artistic exchange

The residency programme opens with a public artist talk at the Johannes Stegmann Gallery on 17 August. The following day, Mahama will participate in Meet Ibrahim Mahama, a livestreamed public conversation chaired by Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies. 

For Prof Reddy, “We welcome not only an artist, but a thinker, an educator, and builder of futures for the next generation. His presence at UFS enriches our collaborations and partnerships. Ibrahim’s example offers a compelling model of leadership that combines creativity, social responsibility and institutional building. In several ways, his presence, his collaborations, enable and facilitate our aspirations towards responsible societal futures.”

As part of the residency, Mahama will also travel to Richmond to view What Remains Here, a Department of Fine Arts exhibition at Modern Arts Project South Africa featuring his work. He will spend time exploring Bloemfontein, with this research potentially informing a future large-scale project in the city. 

The week will conclude with critique sessions with fourth-year Fine Arts students and a visit to Nirox Sculpture Park near Johannesburg, an existing partner of the Department of Fine Arts.

Prof von Maltitz draws a parallel between Mahama's decision to establish his cultural institutions in Tamale rather than Accra and UFS’s own location in Bloemfontein rather than in Johannesburg or Cape Town. For her, both demonstrate that ambitious cultural and creative work need not depend on a metropolitan address.