Renowned Ghanaian sculptor, textile, and installation artist Ibrahim Mahama has secured the prestigious inaugural Sam Gilliam Award, established last year by the Dia Art Foundation and the Sam Gilliam Foundation to honor the late artist’s enduring legacy.Mahama's accolade includes a $75,000 prize along with a spotlight in Dia's public program scheduled for autumn this year.The award ceremony will become an annual tradition running until 2033.

Expressing his gratitude, Mahama stated, “Gilliam's influential work, introduced to me during my studies by mentor Kąrî'kạchä Seid'ou, has remained a profound source of inspiration.“I was first introduced to Gilliam’s important work as a student by my mentor Kąrî'kạchä Seid'ou, and it has been greatly influential on me ever since,” Mahama said in a statement. “The most important aspect of any community is to share their many gifts, even if they are born out of precarity, for within that point do we expand freedom for all life forms.”Community sharing of diverse talents, even amidst challenges, is pivotal to expanding freedom for all.”

A jury comprising five distinguished individuals, including Annie Gawlak, Gilliam's widow and president of his foundation; Courtney J. Martin, director of the Yale Center for British Art; Emiliano Valdés, chief curator of the Medellín Museum of Modern Art; Zoé Whitley, director of Chisenhale Gallery; and Jordan Carter, a curator at Dia, selected Mahama.“Mahama champions collaboration in his work and, just like he gives renewed purpose to the materials he collects and recycles into artworks, he revitalises his communities, turning castoff structures into institutions for convening, learning, artmaking and collective growth,” Jessica Morgan, Dia’s director, said in a statement. “This award honours both sides of his sophisticated practice.”His selection was notably based on the ambitious and community-centric nature of his projects, often involving collaborations with numerous artisans in Ghana.

Jessica Morgan, Dia’s director, lauded Mahama's ethos of collaboration and revitalization of communities through art, remarking, “Mahama's practice breathes new life into discarded materials, revitalising communities and spaces for collective growth.”

Mahama's artistic repertoire, characterised by salvaged materials, encompasses a wide spectrum from vibrant fabric-based wall pieces to expansive installations addressing themes of colonialism and industry.His public projects, including wrapping buildings’ façades with textiles crafted alongside Ghanaian craftspeople, highlight his commitment to communal engagement.An upcoming commission involves wrapping London’s Barbican Centre in his signature textile art.

Having participated in major international exhibitions such as Desert X AlUla, the Sharjah Biennial, Bienal de São Paulo, the Venice Architecture Biennale, and the Ghanaian pavilion at the Venice Biennale, Mahama's artistry has garnered global recognition.Represented by White Cube, his recent solo exhibition at the gallery's Hong Kong space in 2022 showcased his multifaceted talent and profound artistic vision.