Lubaina Himid is a British contemporary artist, painter and cultural activist born in Zanzibar in 1954. A pioneering figure of the Black British Art Movement, Himid has spent more than four decades challenging the marginalisation of Black histories within Western culture. Through painting, installation, printmaking and curatorial practice, her work explores colonialism, race, identity, feminism, cultural memory and the often overlooked contributions of the African diaspora.
Winner of the Turner Prize in 2017, Lubaina Himid has become one of the most influential artists working in Britain today. Her practice combines historical research, storytelling, vivid colour and political critique to question Eurocentric narratives and institutional forms of invisibility. In 2026 she represents Great Britain at the Venice Biennale with Presenting History: Testing Translation at the British Pavilion, extending her investigation into how histories are constructed, translated and remembered.
Lubaina Himid - Boatbuilders - Exhibition Predicting History Testing Translation, British Pavilion, 61st Venice Biennale 2026 There was a time when representation seemed like the battle itself. To enter the museum. To appear on the wall.
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