In-Between the World and Dreams
...the human toll of capitalism, globalism, and commodification.
With In-Between the World and Dreams, Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama explores global exchange, commerce, and the troubling histories of colonialism and slavery in the Western world.
Enveloping the contours of a museum building or wall, the blankets of jute fibers are meant to contrast with the monumentality of the institutional buildings and spaces they cover, becoming remnants and traces that reference the hands of laborers, the imprints of colonialism, and the interference of Britain and the U.S. in Ghanaian history.
Mahama's artistic practice illustrates, as he explains, how art education, art, and cultural opportunities "allow for people to find new ways to acquire knowledge, not only of themselves but of their histories and the places and spaces in which they find themselves."
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Time Lapse: Installing the Exhibition
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Ibrahim Mahama: In-Between the World and Dreams Conversation
This conversation brings together collaborators of the ambitious Institute for the Humanities-led project, In-Between the World and Dreams: Amanda Krugliak, Arts Curator UM Institute for the Humanities and Lead Curator; Ozi Uduma, Assistant Curator for Global Contemporary Art at UMMA; Laura De Becker, Curator of African Art and Interim Chief Curator at UMMA; Neil Alan Barclay, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History; and Ibrahim Mahama, internationally known Ghanaian artist and Director of the Savannah Center for the Arts in Tamale, Ghana. -
Virtual Gallery Guide
Can't make it to The Wright? Explore this exhibition through our virtual gallery guide!
Acknowledgements
This project was led by the U-M Institute for the Humanities Gallery in collaboration with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and the U-M Museum of Art. It is made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.