KNUST has again entered the global art spotlight as Ghanaian artist and PhD student Ibrahim Mahama won the Gold Award in the Established Artist category at the inaugural Art Basel Awards in Miami Beach.

Mahama, internationally recognised for his large-scale installations and socially engaged practice, received the honour at a ceremony that convened leading artists, curators, gallerists and cultural institutions. The Art Basel Awards, selected by an international jury, are the first global honours dedicated to recognising excellence and innovation across the contemporary art ecosystem.

In remarks after receiving the award, Mahama dedicated the prize to the KNUST Faculty of Art and blaxTARLINES KUMASI, crediting the institutional culture that shaped his artistic development.

“I want to dedicate this award to the Art School in Kumasi, that is the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and to blaxTARLINES led by our mentor Prof. Karî’kachä Seid’ou, who has dedicated his life’s work to shaping the discourse of art making,” he said.

Art Basel is regarded as a blue-chip global art fair and represents the commercial and entrepreneurial apex of the international art world. The introduction of its awards marks a significant step toward formalising recognition for artists who influence global visual culture.

Mahama’s win is particularly notable given his success across the two major pillars of the global art ecosystem.

These are Art Fairs, which serve as the commercial and entrepreneurial engines of the art market, and Biennales, which are large-scale, non-commercial exhibitions that shape cultural and intellectual discourse.