In this 3-part installation, Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama explores global exchange, commerce and the troubling histories of colonialism and slavery in the Western world.

At the U-M Museum of Art, massive, quilt-like panels cover 4,452 square feet of the exterior of the building, creating one of the spectacular architectural interventions Mahama is known for. A related installation at the U-M Institute for the Humanities Gallery can be viewed (and heard) from a sidewalk window. There will also be an installation inside the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit.

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 their histories and the places and spaces in which they find themselves."

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.

The project marks the first outdoor exhibition of Mahama's work in the United States. It is responsive to the present moment, offering students and the broader community the opportunity to engage with the arts in a public space at a time when gatherings inside buildings and museums are limited.

Oct. 1-23: Large-Scale Public Art Installation, U-M Museum of Art, 525 S. State St., Ann Arbor
Oct. 1-23: Sidewalk Gallery, Institute for the Humanities Gallery, 202 S. Thayer St., Ann Arbor (viewing from the gallery window only)
Oct. 12-Dec. 5: Community Gallery Installation, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, 315 E. Warren Ave., Detroit