University of Michigan issued the following announcement on Oct. 6.
Over the last few weeks, staff at the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities have been stitching together hundreds of large jute sacks under the direction of artist-in-residence Ibrahim Mahama.
Installed last week, the resulting massive, quilt-like panels were used to cover 4,452 square feet of the exterior of the U-M Museum of Art to create one of the spectacular architectural interventions Mahama is known for.
It is an exhibition of firsts. It is the first time that the artist, who has been connecting with staff via Zoom appointments and phone calls from his home in Ghana, will not be on site to install his exhibition or see it in person. He has been performing his traditional artist-in-residence duties from afar as well, which includes teaching a virtual class and participating in virtual events.
The project also marks the first outdoor exhibition of Mahama’s work in the United States. It is part of a multivenue presentation in the region that also includes a related installation at U-M Institute for the Humanities Gallery that can be viewed (and heard) from a sidewalk window, as well as an installation inside the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit.
Amanda Krugliak, curator and director of the U-M Institute for the Humanities Gallery, started planning for an exhibition with Mahama during his recent trip to Ann Arbor as a 2019 Penny Stamps Speaker series presenter. They pivoted planning for the project after Michigan’s stay-at-home orders were announced earlier this year.
Due to COVID-19 persisting travel restrictions, Mahama couldn’t be in Ann Arbor for the installation as originally planned, but decided to move forward with the help of Krugliak and other collaborators at the institute.
“When plans shifted in March, we did not know if he’d be able to be here, so this entire project has involved a great deal of trust from the artist, and we’re grateful that he’s worked with all of us to make this happen,” Krugliak said. “It is really significant that we are doing this in this moment when everything seems impossible—and when we’re going through a series of crises.
“I believe that this piece in particular acknowledges this in a very public way that the institute, museum and university are committed to racial equity and the value of labor and what can be accomplished together, even with our challenges.”
Mahama creates public art by repurposing materials to explore themes of commodity, migration, globalization and economic exchange. “In-Between the World and Dreams,” the title of the exhibition that is spelled out in neon lights as part of the exterior installation, incorporates jute sacks—synonymous with the trade markets of Ghana where he lives and works—as a raw material.
Original source can be found here.
Source: University of Michigan
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