Exhibition shows highlights by Lubaina Himid

British artist and curator Lubaina Himid (*1954) focuses her art on themes such as cultural history and the reclaiming of identities. Originally trained in theatre design, Himid is known for her innovative approaches to painting and social engagement. From 25 November 2021, Tate Modern in London will dedicate a large-scale solo show to her, titled Lubaina Himid. With more than 50 works combining painting, everyday objects, poetic texts and sound, the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to experience the full range of Himid's influential career. Early installations, including the well-known A Fashionable Marriage (1984), will enter into dialogue with more recent works such as her series of large-scale paintings Le Rodeur (2016-2018), while very recent paintings created during the shutdown caused by the pandemic will be on public display for the first time. Inspired by Himid's interest in theatre, the exhibition unfolds in a sequence of scenes that put visitors both centre stage and backstage until 03 July 2022.

Born in 1954 in Zanzibar, now Tanzania, Lubaina Himid initially studied theatre design at Wimbledon College of Art before receiving her Masters degree in Cultural History from the Royal College of Art in London in 1984. Since the 1980s, she has been a key figure in the UK Black Art movement, creating space for the expression and recognition of black experiences and women's creativity. In the last decade, she has also gained international recognition for her figurative paintings that illuminate unnoticed and unseen aspects of history and contemporary everyday life. In 2017, she was awarded the Turner Prize and in 2018 received the honorary degree of CBE (a British knighthood) for her services to the arts. She is now Professor of Contemporary Art at the University of Central Lancashire and her activist works are regularly exhibited worldwide.