A Right to Determine Value: Ibrahim Mahama in conversation with Thomas Aquilina

Join UP Projects online for their upcoming Constellations ° Assembly ‘A Right to Determine Value’, featuring 2024 Sam Gilliam Award Winner and artist Ibrahim Mahama in conversation with Thomas Aquilina (Co-Director of Spatial Justice at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL). Together, they will explore how community voices can shape cultural infrastructure and public space, and the vital role artists play in advocating for more inclusive cities. Mahama will share insights into his transformative work in Tamale, Northern Ghana- where he has founded cultural and educational institutions such as SCCA, Red Clay, and Nkrumah Volini – and discuss Purple Hibiscus (2024), his large-scale public artwork created in collaboration with hundreds of craftspeople from Tamale. Aquilina will reflect on embedding human-rights-first approaches in global urban contexts, drawing from his 2025 essay ‘Who’s right, what right, and where’s that right?’ Register to be part of this exploration of spatial justice and collective agency in city-making.

🗓️ 4 February 2026 🕒 2:00 PM – 3:15 GMT📍 Online 🔗 bit.ly/right-value