Events
Ibrahim Mahama in Skopje
15/10/2025 – 14/11/2025
Solo exhibition by Ibrahim Mahama at the Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje
Opening: October 14, 2025 at 6 p.m.
Exhibition duration: 15/10/2025 – 14/11/2025
A special opening of the project, with the opportunity for the audience to meet world-renowned artist Ibrahim Mahama, will be held on October 14, 2025, starting at 6 p.m.
Mahama's work, which wraps the facade of the Museum of Contemporary Art, represents his first solo exhibition in the country.
The textile surface, composed of over 1,000 jute bags that wrap the building, are used daily to transport goods and products, primarily in the economies of the global south, bearing historical traces of labor processes, exchange, referencing themes such as globalization and migration, exploitation and economic inequality. By connecting the jute bags and installing them on the surface of the museum building, the work explores how historical events are embedded in the materiality of the jute bags and how through this installation the facade is transformed into a political mirror.
Founded in 1964, the MSU – Skopje was created as a platform for artistic exchange, cultural and international cooperation. Built from donations after the catastrophic Skopje earthquake of 1963, it is a material edifice of the principle of solidarity, a place that reflects the promise of a better society.
Mahama’s intervention renews the founding ethos of the museum, affirming the role of art in society and its potential to represent and reflect acts of solidarity regardless of different spatial and historical contexts and situations. The museum building is inextricably linked to Mahama’s installation and jute bags, becoming a counterpart in expression and rethinking and establishing solidarity, in opposition to dominant global power relations and exploitative geopolitical dynamics.
About the artist: Ibrahim Mahama was born in 1987 in Tamale, Ghana. He lives and works in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale. Selected solo exhibitions include Barbican Centre, London (2024); Kunsthalle Osnabrück, Germany (2023); Oude Kerk, Amsterdam (2022); Frac Pays de la Loire (2022); High Line, New York (2021); University of Michigan Museum of Art (2020); etc. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including the 4th Lagos Biennale, Lagos (2024); Malta and Gozo Biennale (2024), 15th Sharjah Biennale, China (2023); 18th International Architecture Biennale in Venice (2023); 35th São Paulo Biennale (2023); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (2021); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2020); 22nd Biennale of Sydney (2020); Ghana Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale (2019); Documenta 14, Athens and Kassel (2017); Kunsthalle Charlottenborg, Copenhagen and Holbaek (2016); 56th Venice Biennale (2015); etc.
Outside of his artistic practice, Mahama actively seeks to redefine the role of art in society. He founded the Savannah Contemporary Art Center and the Red Clay Studio, both institutions dedicated to education, experimentation, and community-led artistic practice in northern Ghana. In 2023, Mahama was also appointed Artistic Director of the 35th Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana.
Support: The exhibition is realized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje with financial support and parity contribution from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, as well as from the Reitman Foundation, London; Eurolink Insurance; Zavar; Rade Končar; Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of St. Cyril and Methodius; Macedonian Mountaineering Federation and Wikiexpeditions, all from Skopje.
Пријатели на МСУ Скопје: Галеријата Вајткјуб (White Cube Gallery), Лондон, Њујорк, Хонг Конг, Париз, Сеул; AПАЛАЦОГАЛЕРИЈА (APALLAZOGALLERY), Бреша и Тиквеш, Кавадарци.
